UCLA cardiology receives $2 million to establish Connor Dunn Endowed Fund
The UCLA Division of Cardiology has received a $2 million gift from a UCLA alumnus to endow research focused on cardiovascular and cardiometabolic health.
Alumnus Kirk Dunn made the gift in honor of his late son, Connor Dunn. The Connor Dunn Endowed Fund in Preventive Cardiovascular Health will help further the work of Dr. Tamer Sallam, vice chair of the UCLA Department of Medicine, executive director of the UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research, or STAR, Program.
Sallam’s laboratory focuses on how genetics impact cardiometabolic diseases, a group of common and often preventable conditions, such as heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The gift is aimed at accelerating discoveries and clinical strategies targeting inflammation and metabolism in heart disease. It will support several projects, including promising multidisciplinary pilot studies.