Trustee gives $1.5 million to research


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USC Trustee Daniel M. Tsai donated $1.5 million to the School of Pharmacy to establish the USC Daniel Tsai Fund for Translation Research in Pharmacy.

Generosity · Trustee Daniel M. Tsai, who made a $1.5 million gift to the School of Pharmacy, was elected to USC’s Board of Trustees in April 2012. - Courtesy of USC

Generosity · Trustee Daniel M. Tsai, who made a $1.5 million gift to the School of Pharmacy, was elected to USC’s Board of Trustees in April 2012. — Courtesy of USC

Tsai’s gift is part of the Campaign for the University of Southern California, a multiyear effort to fundraise $6 billion to support USC academics and grow the university’s impact on the community and the world.

“The ability to accelerate the time between scientific discovery and new patient therapies is a core focus of USCs medical enterprise,” President C. L. Max Nikias said in a statement. “With his generous gift, Daniel Tsai affirms his confidence in our ability to do so.”

In recognition of the donation, a laboratory in the John Stauffer Pharmaceutical Sciences Center on the Health Sciences Campus will be named in honor of Tsai.

Researchers at the center will focus on the development of pharmaceuticals to target monoamine oxidase (MAO), an enzyme suspected to hinder the spread of cancer. Jean Chen Shih, a professor in the School of Pharmacy and an expert in monoamine signaling, will lead the center.

The new center will be jointly based at USC and in Taiwan. The two facilities will exchange research findings, and fellows at the center will also spend up to two years training in laboratories.

Tsai, who was elected to the USC Board of Trustees in April 2012, is the chairman of Fubon Financial, the largest financial group in Taiwan. During his time on the board, Tsai has actively supported USC outreach in Asia.

“I believe international collaborations between expert researchers are one of the keys to developing new ways to treat disease,” Tsai said in a statement. “I am proud to support USC and, in particular, the work of Dr. Shih to ensure these collaborations take place.”

Tsai is a graduate of National Taiwan University and Georgetown University. His wife, Irene, received a master’s degree from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 1985. Three of Tsai’s children currently attend USC.