Chuck Lorre is committing millions to help educate the next generation of scientists and medical professionals.
Through his Chuck Lorre Family Foundation, the super producer has has pledged a total of $10 million to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to support research education for high school and college students from under-resourced communities throughout greater Los Angeles. The gift creates sustained support for a continuum of science training and mentorship that begins when students are in high school and now extends into college, and could, ultimately, create a more diverse pool of scientists, doctors, nurses and health care professionals.
CHLA has launched the Chuck Lorre Research Scholars Program (CLRSP), which welcomed its inaugural class in the summer of 2023, including student alumni from the Samuels Family Latino and African American High School Internship Program (LA-HIP) at CHLA. The scholars participate in 10 weeks of paid summer laboratory research after their freshman or sophomore year of college either at their current university, CHLA, or at a research institution of their choice. During that time, they receive mentorship and career guidance from CHLA’s director of the program. After their first summer, scholars can apply for continued financial support and research mentorship during their next year of college.
“When students are fully immersed in research, they can suddenly imagine a future in STEM where they can pursue their dreams. That is what inspired me to establish this program,” offered Lorre. CLRSP expands Lorre’s commitment to STEM education and supporting students who identify as an underrepresented minority in their quest to become scientists or clinician-researchers. Furthermore, his foundation has been supporting CHLA since 2016.
“We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to ensure more under-resourced students have a leg up to fulfill their dreams,” continued Lorre. “These programs have tremendous potential to shape the future of science and health care by creating a more diverse workforce.”
The new gift increases support for the students who study lab research through LA-HIP, a high school-level internship program at CHLA started by Dr. Emil Bogenmann in 2005, which is aimed at increasing educational opportunities for juniors and seniors from inner-city schools around Los Angeles. “In college students can run into various challenges — a lack of financial support, guidance and opportunities to perform research in a laboratory — which leads to them dropping out of the science pipeline,” said Bogenmann, director of the CLRSP. “We’re focusing on bridging that gap, keeping them engaged and setting them up for success if they decide to go to graduate or medical school.”
