Hastings Foundation breathes new life into pulmonary research

The Hastings Foundation has made a new long-term pledge to support pulmonary research at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, bringing the foundation’s total support of USC research to more than $75 million since 1961.

The recent gift of $20 million will support the national recruitment of a new leader for the Hastings Center for Pulmonary Research — an expert physician-scientist who will hold the newly established Hastings Endowed Chair in Pulmonology.

It also establishes the Parviz Minoo Endowed Professorship in Pulmonology, which will encourage collaboration across pulmonary research disciplines, and the Hastings Center for Pulmonary Research Endowed Fund, which will provide long-term support for HCPR’s groundbreaking, patient-focused research initiatives.

“For more than 60 years, the Hastings Foundation and USC have been united by a bold vision to advance science and transform health,” said Steven D. Shapiro, MD, senior vice president for health affairs. “This extraordinary commitment accelerates discovery in pulmonary research while building on a deep legacy of service to Pasadena and Southern California — ensuring that innovation, education and care continue to benefit our communities for generations to come.”

HCPR was founded in 2014 to drive collaboration and innovation between USC’s basic, translational and clinical lung research, with the aim to better diagnose, treat and prevent lung diseases. It was named in honor of the foundation, which itself was established through the 1943 estate gift of Charles Hueston Hastings to fund the study, prevention, treatment and cure of tuberculosis — the disease that took his father’s life. As the treatments for tuberculosis rapidly advanced, the foundation refocused its attention on pulmonary and related diseases in 1961.

“In making this gift, the Hastings Foundation hopes to fully fund and create a world-class research institute that will honor the memory of Charles Hueston Hastings in a powerful and meaningful way,” said John Reith, president of the Hastings Foundation and USC alumnus ’71, MBA ’77. “We partnered with USC after treating tuberculosis had been solved, and we hope to have that same result with lung diseases through the research at HCPR. This investment creates that possibility. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with USC and the Keck School of Medicine.”

“It’s thrilling for me to see the HCPR journey continue with the unwavering support of the Hastings Foundation,” said Parviz Manoo, PhD, who currently directs the center. “Building on the accomplishments we’ve achieved together in the last decade is great news for people suffering from chronic lung diseases. I look forward to sharing this incredible new chapter with our current and future HCPR colleagues and our good friends at the Hastings Foundation.”

In USC’s health enterprise, research leaders at the Hastings Center develop the knowledge that is applied from the bench to the bedside in clinical care delivered at the USC Center for Advanced Lung Disease. Its faculty contribute important discoveries related to regenerative medicine and stem cell biology, pulmonary and cystic fibrosis, asthma and inflammatory diseases, lung cancer, genetics, immunology and many other areas.

“The Hastings Foundation has supported significant research into the fundamental drivers of pulmonary diseases at the HCPR,” said Susan Gurley, MD, PhD, chair of the department of medicine at the Keck School. “Our labs have been making breakthrough discoveries in lung development, injury and regeneration, biomarkers for lung diseases, and in studying the lung microbiome.”

“At the Keck School, the research our physician-scientists conduct always keeps the future patient in mind. With this gift we can move our significant findings more swiftly into clinical trials for patients with lung diseases and devote more resources to developing new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent the pulmonary illnesses that impact more than half a billion people globally,” said Carolyn Meltzer, MD, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

“We couldn’t be more grateful for the decades-long partnership with the Hastings Foundation and their understanding that private support such as theirs can fuel swift changes in medicine. I’m thankful we share a vision for a future where world-class research leads to life-saving medical advances for patients.”