$7.8 million given to Carver College of Medicine

BY BEN MARKS | SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 5:00 AM

The Carver College of Medicine will hopefully use $7.8 million donation to look for a new professorship, in addition to furthering genetic research.

After receiving $7.8 million, the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine will advance genomic medicine as well as hopefully establishing several new positions in the college.

The money was from the estate of Franklin D. Trueblood, who earned a law degree in at the UI in 1925 and, along with friend and fellow alum Elsie Foerstner, was a staunch supporter of the university over the years.

When he died in 1989, his will named Foerstner as a lifetime income beneficiary of his trust. After Foerstners death in April, the university was named as remainder beneficiary.

A decision on exactly where the money is to be spent in the Genetics Department has not yet been made. However, medical-school Dean Debra Schwinn said the money could be used for a variety of purposes.

We want to make sure were putting it to the absolute best use, and thats why were not making a quick decision, she said. Theres just so much that we can do, this is a huge jump-start, and we have so many projects where we can use this wisely.

UI spokesman Tom Moore said it is not one lab that will benefit from the donation but a field of study, as the $7.8 million was given to the university with the intention of promoting the field of genomic medicine at the medical school.

Genomic medicine is about tailoring treatment to a specific individuals genome, Schwinn said.

Read the rest here:

$7.8 million given to Carver College of Medicine