ILLUSTRATIONS: RAFAEL LOPEZ
Parsons Foundation gift funds new teaching laboratory in graduate school
A $750,000 grant from the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation will establish a new teaching laboratory for students at City of Hope’s Graduate School of Biological Sciences.
The 1,057-square-foot Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Teaching Laboratory will provide students with dedicated research space and sophisticated equipment for training in molecular, cellular, chemical, biochemical and genetic disciplines during their first year, enhancing their ability to begin research projects in their second and subsequent years of study. The laboratory is slated for construction within the upcoming Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center for Cancer Immunotherapeutics and Tumor Immunology at City of Hope.
John Rossi, Ph.D., chair of the Division of Molecular Biology, and dean of the Graduate School of Biological Sciences, noted that the new laboratory will enhance instruction in how to conduct research. “The Parsons Foundation teaching laboratory will significantly expand the educational resources available to our students,” he said. “The facility will allow students to learn basic and advanced laboratory skills through direct, hands-on experience. Our graduate students will be well-prepared to launch their own scientific pursuits and contribute to City of Hope’s overall research enterprise.”
Dedicated to supporting the efforts of nonprofits across Southern California, the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation has been providing funding since its inception in 1961. In 1976, it became fully independent of the Parsons Company. Over the past 20 years, City of Hope has received grants exceeding $2.5 million from the Parsons Foundation. Most recently, the foundation funded fellowships for students of City of Hope’s Graduate School of Biological Sciences. The Parsons Foundation also supported construction of Helford Clinical Research Hospital at City of Hope.