New Stem Cell Fund At BGU

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev established a stem cell research fund last month, a fund that will support scholarly collaboration between selected medical and pharmacological researchers, stem biologists and tissue engineers.

The source of the funding is Rhoda Baruch, in memory of her late husband, Dr. Jordan Baruch.

The Baruchs are from Chevy Chase, Md., and are the founders of the Washington-Baltimore Region of American Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU).

The stem cell center is a new endeavor [for BGU], said Keren Waranch, director of the regional branch. This is one of the top priorities for President Rivka Carmi and for the school. This endowment fund is a big step in the fulfilling their plans.

Dr. Baruch, said Waranch, was a longtime supporter of Ben-Gurion University and himself an inventor, an incredible innovator and a forward thinker. He was considered one of the foremost authorities in the field of acoustics and had several patents for sound-dampening technology and loudspeaker systems. In the late 1970s, he served as assistant secretary of commerce for science and technology under President Jimmy Carter. In that role, he helped create the Binational Research and Development Foundation (BIRD), administered locally by the Maryland/Israel Development Center.

Rhoda Baruch flew 20 children and grandchildren and other extended family to Israel for a fund-dedication ceremony on Dec. 30. This, said Waranch, was the largest such ceremony of its kind that the university has ever held. It was unprecedented, she said.

AABGU owes so much to Rhoda and Jordan, said Waranch. This gift is a wonderful thing, but it is just representative of the kind of long-term loyalty [the Baruchs] have for research and for the university.

Photo captions: Dr. Rhoda Baruch (left) celebrates the opening of a stem cell research fund in her husbands honor with Ben-Gurion University President Rivka Carmi. (Photo Provided)

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New Stem Cell Fund At BGU