$1.5M to be combined with $500,000 from the Leahi Fund To Establish Two Endowed Chairs in Respiratory Health; Association also Donates $1M to Fund Respiratory Research
(Honolulu, Hawaiʻi) - The American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi (ALAH) has donated $1.5 million and the Leahi Fund, administered by the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, designated $500,000 to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) to establish two endowed chairs in respiratory health, announced the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation.
In a separate donation, the ALAH has given $1 million to JABSOM, through the University Clinical Education & Research Associates, a non-profit organization which supports the medical school, to support research by Dr. Elizabeth Tam and her team into the cause, prevention and treatment of respiratory diseases in Hawaiʻi.
The American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi and Leahi Fund Endowed Chair in Respiratory Health and the American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi Endowed Chair in Neonatal Respiratory Health Fund honor in perpetuity the ALAH’s mission to prevent lung disease and promote lung health among the people in Hawaiʻi through education, research and advocacy.
By establishing these two important positions at the John A. Burns School of Medicine we are pleased to partner with the University of Hawaiʻi to grow the talent of specialized physicians and researchers in pulmonary medicine at the school and throughout the State of Hawaiʻi, said Vice President of ALAH’s Board of Directors Sterling Yee. With this gift, the American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi is investing in the future of lung health in Hawaiʻi.
The American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi and Leahi Fund Endowed Chair in Respiratory Health will be funded through a $500,000 endowment gift from ALAH established at the UH Foundation and a $500,000 endowment established at the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, which administers the Leahi Fund in its support of programs for research and education in, and the prevention of, pulmonary disease.
The American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi Endowed Chair in Neonatal Respiratory Health Fund will support an outstanding faculty member in Neonatal Respiratory Health in the Department of Pediatrics at JABSOM. Funds from both chairs, in addition to supporting faculty members, will be used for a variety of purposes to advance the work being done to enhance the lung health of Hawaiʻi’s people.
In describing the importance of the $1 million research grant to JABSOM, Yee said Hawaiʻi’s population suffers more than those of most states from respiratory diseases. He said nearly one out of ten people here suffers from asthma, a debilitating disease that can sap the vitality out of otherwise healthy individuals. The American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi is proud to partner with the university to develop the research capabilities of the John A. Burns School of Medicine to benefit the lung health of the people of Hawaiʻi, Yee said.
We are so very grateful to the American Lung Association of Hawaiʻi and their work in advancing respiratory health, a critically important field of medicine impacting thousands in Hawaiʻi and many more throughout the nation, said Dr. Sam Shomaker, JABSOM’s interim dean. Most people take breathing for granted because it's second nature, an involuntary reflex. But for the thousands of Hawaiʻi citizens who suffer from breathing problems, every breath takes a major effort.
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The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawaiʻi System. The mission of the University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is to unite donors' passions with the University of Hawaiʻi’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawaiʻi and our future generations www.uhfoundation.org.
