Esther B. O'Keeffe Foundation Donates $250,000 to Fund Scripps Florida Neuroscience Training Program

JUPITER, FL  – May 30, 2013  – The Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation has made a $250,000 donation to The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) to fund neuroscience training and public outreach on the Florida campus.

"We’re deeply grateful for the support of the O’Keeffe Foundation," said TSRI President and CEO Michael A. Marletta. "This gift will help us train the next generation of neuroscientists, as well as support a series of presentations on brain function and dysfunction to raise broad community awareness of Scripps Florida’s work to understand and combat brain diseases.”

“Thanks to the O’Keeffe Foundation, we look forward to connecting with the public and with local policy makers to showcase both what we do and the people involved in our research,” added Ronald L. Davis, chair of the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Florida who will oversee the new fund. “Our scientists-in-training will also benefit from the foundation’s support.”

The Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation was established in 1990 by the late philanthropist Esther B. O'Keeffe, wife of respected surgeon and philanthropist Dr. Arthur O'Keeffe. Their children now carry on the family tradition by serving as trustees of the foundation, which supports a variety of health and medical research causes, as well as a spectrum of arts and cultural programs.

"We are delighted to help contribute to the important scientific and educational work taking place at The Scripps Research Institute," said Clare O'Keeffe, executive trustee of the foundation. "The advances being forged by Scripps Florida scientists are tremendously exciting."

The latest gift from the Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation follows gifts totaling more than $3 million to Scripps Florida to fund biomedical research and education. In recognition of the foundation’s generosity, last May the Founders Room and the adjoining boardroom on the Florida campus were named the Esther B. O'Keeffe Founders Suite.

The O'Keeffe family's generosity is reflected in the names of many Palm Beach area facilities and programs, including the Esther B. O'Keeffe Art Gallery and Speakers Series at The Society of the Four Arts, pavilions at the Good Samaritan and St. Mary's medical centers, a wing at the Norton Museum of Art, and the American Heart Association's West Palm Beach headquarters. In addition, the Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation has supported the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cape Cod Hospital, and many other charities.

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