Adler family gift advances research, education

Dallas dermatologist Max Adler, M.D., (front row in the red tie) is surrounded by appreciative M.D./Ph.D. students during a November 2012 gift announcement at the South Texas Research Facility. On the left in the white coat is M.D./Ph.D. Program Director, Jose Cavazos, M.D., Ph.D.

A gift of $1 million from the estate of Laura A. Adler in memory of her husband, Harry F. Adler, M.D., Ph.D., is providing students at the UT Health Science Center with laboratory space and endowed scholarships for perpetuity. The gift will establish the Harry F. Adler, M.D., Ph.D., Laboratory in the South Texas Research Facility (STRF), and the Harry F. Adler, M.D., Ph.D., President’s Endowment at the UT Health Science Center. Dallas dermatologist Max Adler, M.D., a 1976 alumnus of the Long School of Medicine, presented the gift at a reception at the STRF this past winter. Dr. Harry Adler was an early pioneer in translational medicine who achieved the rigorous educational milestone of physician with his M.D. degree and of biomedical scientist with his Ph.D. degree. His legacy is being passed on to future generations of M.D./Ph.D. students studying at the Health Science Center. First-year M.D./Ph.D. student Jeffrey Cooney, co-authored a paper published in the prestigious journal Nature. “A big part of my decision to do an M.D./Ph.D. degree was rooted in the fact that I love both science and medicine,” Cooney said. “I spent several years doing hematology research and fell in love with the elegance of a well-designed experiment. The ability to contribute to these advances is the real reason that I chose this career path.” Thanks to the Adler family, students such as Cooney will have opportunities for success to last a lifetime.