Penn State alumnus and philanthropist Charles H. “Skip” Smith has committed $5 million to advance the research of Gong Chen, professor of biology and the Verne M. Willaman Chair in Life Sciences in the Eberly College of Science. Chen’s research holds promise for developing treatments for traumatic brain injuries, stroke, Alzheimer's, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
“While the intricacies of Dr. Chen’s research are complex, all of us understand the debilitating effects of diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s,” said Penn State President Eric Barron. “Skip Smith’s transformational gift will provide the much-needed resources and support to help move us closer toward an effective treatment. Skip has established an extraordinary legacy of giving to Penn State, and we are grateful that he has chosen to support research that is vital to families who are suffering from debilitating brain injuries and diseases.”
Chen and his team have developed a groundbreaking laboratory technique that promises to one day lead to clinical therapies for patients with damaged brain tissue. Smith’s gift will provide funding for the highly skilled staff, lab equipment and other materials necessary to move this research forward.
“Dr. Chen is pioneering some of the most exciting research in the field of brain repair research,” said Douglas Cavener, the Verne M. Willaman Dean of the Eberly College of Science. “Skip Smith’s extraordinary support will allow Dr. Chen and his team to accelerate the pace of discovery in this vitally important area.”
Chen’s laboratory recently used a cocktail of small molecules to transform human brain cells called astroglial cells into functioning neurons for the purpose of brain repair. Published online in the journal Cell Stem Cell on Oct. 15, their findings provide preliminary indications that “chemical reprogramming” may one day lead to the development of drugs that could regenerate neurons and restore brain functions to patients.
The team is currently developing techniques for both gene therapy and drug therapy that can eventually move their lab research through all the stages of clinical trials in order to treat patients. They are now testing the use of their chemical reprogramming method on brain injuries such as stroke, spinal-cord injuries, and Alzheimer’s disease.
“I’m deeply grateful for Skip Smith’s generosity. Mr. Smith’s outstanding gift will allow my team and me to move our lab research to human clinical trials much faster, perhaps shortening the delivery of potential therapy to within 10 years,” said Chen. “Skip’s generosity will surely encourage more students to join us -- not only for great science, but also for deep humanity. I myself would like to follow Skip Smith’s model and return generosity back to society.”
Smith’s seven-figure support for Chen’s research is not his first transformational gift to the University. In 2010, his historic gift of $10 million launched construction of The Arboretum at Penn State, enabling the University’s decades-long vision for the project to come to fruition. The gift also named the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens in honor of Smith’s late father, also a Penn State alumnus. Smith has since added to his support for the Arboretum, and now -- with this new gift to support Chen's work -- his total lifetime giving to Penn State exceeds $18 million.
Smith’s gift to the Eberly College of Science will take his philanthropy in a new direction, as his first major gift to advance research at Penn State. “It is truly inspiring to know that Dr. Chen and his team may be only a decade away from a treatment for Alzheimer’s and related diseases,” said Smith. “If my support can help to bring this exciting prospect within closer reach, then it will have paid itself back tenfold.”
A resident of State College, Smith graduated from Penn State with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering in 1948. Along with his brothers and fellow Penn State graduates James B. Smith and Thomas L. Smith, Skip joined his father in the firm H.O. Smith and Sons, a real estate development and rental company established in 1951. In 1950 he also founded State College Television Co., now State College Audio-Visual Supply, owned by his son John.
Alumni and friends like Skip Smith are invaluable partners in fulfilling the University's land-grant mission of education, research and service. Private gifts from alumni and friends enrich the experiences of students both in and out of the classroom; expand the research and teaching capacity of faculty; enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain top students and faculty; and help to ensure that students from every economic background have access to a Penn State education. The University's colleges and campuses are now enlisting the support of alumni and friends to advance a range of unit-specific initiatives.