Statement on Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget Allocation to Support the Establishment of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy

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LOS ANGELES, May 16, 2022 – Gary K. Michelson, M.D., founder and co-chair of the Michelson Center for Public Policy and the Michelson Medical Research Foundation, today issued a statement following the announcement of Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal to invest $500 million towards the establishment of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy:

“Immunology and immunotherapy as an interdisciplinary scientific endeavor have the highest potential to transform the trajectory of human healthcare, and the state’s investment in a new California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy is nothing short of historic. We are in awe of Governor Newsom’s visionary leadership to make California the field of dreams in this burgeoning frontier of medical science. The Institute will undoubtedly save lives, reduce human suffering, save money, educate the next generation of scientists, and seed what will be the next technological economic powerhouse for California.”

The California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy (CIII) will be a multi-disciplinary research institute to harness and coordinate the extraordinary potential and accelerate the enormous health and economic benefits from immunology and immunotherapy. The CIII was developed in close collaboration with, and with the support of, leading scientists, academics, doctors, universities, economists, government officials, and community leaders. With land being provided by UCLA, the project requires no cost for acquisition. CIII will maintain California’s stature as the unquestioned global leader in biotechnology while accelerating the career pipeline for California students in these emerging fields.

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