Two Foundations Team Up

Saint John’s Health Center Foundation Teams up with Pacific Neuroscience Institute Foundation to Fundraise for a Neuroscience Revolution

SANTA MONICA (July 5, 2017) – Saint John’s Health Center Foundation and Pacific Neuroscience Institute Foundation announce a new partnership to raise funds for Pacific Neuroscience Institute (PNI), a multispecialty group of more than 30 physicians and researchers renowned for providing leading-edge, minimally invasive treatments, as well as conducting breakthrough translational research and clinical trials to advance the care of patients with neurological and cranial disorders.

Just as PNI has brought together a multidisciplinary team that works together across eight Centers of Excellence, Saint John’s Health Center Foundation and PNI Foundation will team up to advance and support the vision of PNI. All funds raised for PNI through Saint John’s Health Center Foundation and PNI Foundation will help pave the way to revolutionize the neurosciences, creating changes to advance one of the final frontiers of medicine.

Daniel F. Kelly, MD, neurosurgeon and director of PNI and its Brain Tumor and Pituitary Disorders Centers says, “Over the next decade, philanthropic support will be essential to help us create novel and more effective treatments for the illnesses our patients encounter. This partnership with the Saint John’s Foundation will allow us to take our vision to the next level and help us provide personalized precision care and innovative solutions to tackle some of the most daunting problems in neuroscience.”

“The PNI vision is to focus on gaining a better understanding of all neurological disorders and to create new concepts and ideas together that will accelerate development of new drugs, devices, and technologies to help our patients,” says Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, director of the Pacific Neuroscience Research Center. “The Saint John’s Foundation plays a big part in providing necessary funds to make all this happen and we couldn’t do this without their partnership.”

Through philanthropic, industry and government support, the Foundations will ensure that PNI has the essential funds to help transform fatal brain cancer into a manageable chronic illness and permanent stroke into a recoverable condition. These efforts will help extend survival rates and restore quality of life; understand and target the genetic, molecular, and immune basis for neurologic disorders; and train the next generation of neurosurgeons and neuroscientists.

“We already have a successful model in the Saint John’s Foundation and by joining forces with PNI Foundation and working collectively in our joint efforts we will continue moving forward and establishing PNI as the leading neuroscience institute for not only Southern California, but nationally and internationally as well,” says Robert O. Klein, President & CEO, Saint John’s Health Center Foundation. “We are eager to work in partnership with the PNI Founders, Drs. Daniel F. Kelly, Chester F. Griffiths, Howard R. Krauss, and Santosh Kesari, PNI Foundation Director, Karter White, and the rest of the PNI team.”

In total, the PNI faculty collectively have over 400 peer-reviewed academic publications in the neurosciences. In the spirit of the Saint John’s Cancer Institute established at Saint John’s Health Center over 25 years ago, which blazed a unique trail outside the confines of traditional academia, PNI, in continued collaboration with JWCI, aims to redefine global neuro-health and be at the forefront of providing groundbreaking therapies and treatments.

Donna Schweers, Chair of the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation’s Board of Trustees concludes, “We believe in this team of PNI physicians and researchers and want to help them succeed in accelerating progress in prevention, treatment, and research across the neurosciences. We stand behind PNI and its mission to make a difference and are excited to be a part of their journey to revolutionize the neurosciences.”

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About Saint John’s Health Center Foundation:
Saint John’s Health Center Foundation inspires philanthropic support for Providence Saint John’s Health Center and the Saint John’s Cancer Institute in Santa Monica. Private support provides the margin of excellence that enables both the hospital and the Institute to be leaders in the quality of care and research they provide. For more information, visit https://saintjohnsfoundation.org/.

About Pacific Neuroscience Institute Foundation:
Pacific Neuroscience Institute Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to creating new understanding, novel techniques, and innovative technologies to advance one of the final frontiers of medicine. PNI Foundation provides critical funding for Pacific Neuroscience Institute to fuel advances in neuroscience research, clinical trials, fellowship training, physician and patient education, and community outreach. For more information, visit www.pacificneuro.org.

Karter White is the Administrative Director of PNI Foundation. She oversees the strategic, operational and philanthropic efforts of the PNI Foundation in support of the PNI physician programs, Centers of Excellence, and innovative research initiatives. She works in partnership with the Saint John’s Health Center Foundation development team and the PNI Founders (Drs. Kelly, Griffiths, Krauss and Kesari) to foster relationships with individuals, foundations, and corporations to support the life-changing work of PNI. Karter helps expand support programs and advance clinical trials, fellowship training, physician and patient education, and community outreach for PNI.