The Ray Charles Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the legendary entertainer's estate, donated $1 million to Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai to boost its neuroscience program.
The donation will support research and training by selecting a cohort of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities to train and work at the health system. The donation is the foundation's second gift to the program.
"The students chosen for this program are destined for greatness in the world of medicine," said Keith Black, MD, chair of the department of neurosurgery and overseer of the scholarship fund, in a July 5 news release. "What the scholars program aims to do, as a shared mission between Cedars-Sinai and The Ray Charles Foundation, is build the students' scientific acuity as they establish their medical careers. This valuable funding is as much a catalyst for the program's forward momentum as the students' steadfast work ethic and the mentors' expertise."