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BioScienceLA Visits CDU Campus
CDU played host to a special visit from BioScienceLA CEO , Mr . David Whelan , and delegates from the Association of British HealthTech Industries ( ABHI ) and UK Trade & Investment . The visit consisted of a brief tour of the CDU campus and a roundtable discussion with leaders from both organizations and the delegation . The purpose of the meeting was to welcome foreign investors to explore a potential partnership with CDU .
The event began with an introduction by Sylvia Drew Ivie , Senior Special Assistant to the President for Community Affairs , who shared history about the University and its namesake , Dr . Charles R . Drew , her father , who was a pioneer in the work of blood preservation .
“ He invented refrigerated trucks that would go into Harlem and collect blood from Black residents ,” shared Ms . Drew Ivie . “ He then made the plasma available to go into anybody ’ s arm regardless of blood type and it was a great success .”
Dr . David M . Carlisle , CDU President and CEO , also provided remarks during the gathering , pointing out the University ’ s direct institutional connection to Britain through its namesake .
“ This is a mission driven institution that has biomedical science research in its institutional DNA and that ’ s why you see people like our Vice President for Research and Health Affairs , Jay Vadgama , and so many others here that are doing research to address the needs of communities like this , not just here in Los Angeles but actually around the world ,” said President Carlisle . “ Everywhere you go you can find under-resourced communities — and that ’ s one of the big challenges in our health care systems .”
The visit concluded with a tour of the campus and the research laboratories . The tours were conducted by Dr . Monica Ferrini , Dean of the College of Science and Health , Dr . Yanyuan Wu , Associate Professor in the Division of Cancer Research and Training and Department of Internal Medicine , and Jacob De la Torre , Program Manager in the Department of Research Administration .
BioScienceLA is dedicated to ensuring that Los Angeles has a collaborative , well-coalesced ecosystem that encompasses all aspects of the Southern California life sciences cluster – biotechnology , pharmaceuticals , medical devices , medical diagnostics , bioinformatics , healthcare IT , medtech , digital health , and more .
ABHI supports the U . K . HealthTech community to provide products and services worldwide that help people live healthier lives .