Gift from the Heart
Historic $10 million gift to support research center on heart, vascular diseases
Lawrence D. Jacobs, M.D., was renowned world-wide for his ground-breaking research on multiple sclerosis and specifically for developing Avonex, the drug most prescribed today to treat the relapsing-remitting form of MS. This culmination of his many years of work on the disease, inspired by a determination to improve the lives of his patients, brought a flood of accolades, not the least of which was the $1 million Irvin and Rosemary Smith Chair in Neurology funded by Biogen, Avonex’s manufacturer.
During his 12-year tenure as chair of the UB Department of Neurology, which later became known as the Jacobs Neurological Institute in honor of Jacob’s parents, Louis and Genevieve, he hosted scientists from 15 countries, training them in his MS clinic.
After the introduction of Avonex in 1994, he spent much of his time traveling throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia and New Zealand lecturing and educating physicians in the use of the new drug, coordinating MS clinical research and developing new research initiatives.
Jacobs authored or coauthored more than 200 publications in scientific journals. He was a member of the numerous editorial boards, a founding member of the American Academy of Neurology Education and Research Foundation, a board member of the International Federation of MS Societies, and a president of the American Society of Neuroimaging.
The many honors bestowed on Jacobs throughout his lifetime included the UB School of Medicine’s Stockton-Kimball Award, given to a faculty member for academic accomplishment and worldwide recognition as an investigator and researcher; the Alumni Merit Award from St. Louis University School of Medicine, his alma mater, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society Champion Award.