The Mrs. Zollie S. Frank Continuity Fund at the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago has pledged $10 million to provide financial support for outstanding advanced students in the biological sciences at the University of Chicago. The Fund was established by the Frank family---Mrs. Zollie (Elaine) Frank, her son Jim Frank and his wife Karen, as well as Chuck Frank, Laurie Lieberman and Nancy Schechtman. The funds will be used to provide scholarships for students in the University's M.D./Ph.D. joint-degree program, which enables exceptional students to acquire doctoral training in the sciences while becoming physicians.
"The Franks' generous commitment to scientific and medical education at the University will make an enormous difference to some of our most outstanding students, enabling promising young scholars to become experts in the basic sciences and to bring that advanced knowledge into the realm of patient care," said Glenn D. Steele, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine at University of Chicago and Vice President of the Medical Center. "These multi-talented students are best positioned to make the scientific and clinical discoveries that will change the ways medicine is practiced."
The joint-degree program is designed for students preparing themselves for careers in academic medicine. It combines a thorough medical education with rigorous graduate training in a basic science, leading to both M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Currently, 15 students are selected yearly for this prestigious program, funded, in part, by the National Institutes of Health. Most students require eight years to complete both degrees.
"We wanted to make a gift that had a lasting impact," said Jim Frank. "The future of the United States lies in superior education. This is an opportunity to support a place that attracts really bright people who then multiply their impact by educating more bright people. The benef
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Contact: John Easton
jeaston@mcis.bsd.uchicago.edu
773-702-6241
University of Chicago Medical Center
28-Aug-2000