Gary K. Michelson | |
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Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. | January 14, 1949
Alma mater | Temple University Hahnemann Medical College |
Occupations |
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Spouse | Alya Michelson |
Children | 3 |
Gary K. Michelson (born January 14, 1949) is an American orthopedic surgeon, medical inventor, and billionaire philanthropist. [1] [2]
Michelson and his three brothers were raised in Philadelphia by his mother and grandmother, whose struggles with syringomyelia inspired his interest in spinal ailments. [3] [4] After graduating Central High School of Philadelphia in 1966, [5] he attended Temple University and Hahnemann Medical College of Drexel University, until finishing his medical residency in orthopedic surgery at Hahnemann Medical Hospital in 1979. Michelson then completed his fellowship training in spinal surgery at St. Luke's Medical Center, in a joint program between Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas. [6] He was a practicing spinal surgeon for over 25 years before retiring from private practice in 2001 to focus on philanthropy. [6]
Seeing the low success rates associated with spinal surgery procedures early in his career, [7] [8] Michelson developed new implants, instruments and procedures for spinal surgery. These technologies, often recognized in the medical profession as "Michelson Devices", assist in surgical procedures by decreasing blood loss, incision size, and addressing other critical factors. [9] [10] Michelson is the sole credited inventor on over 950 issued or pending patents worldwide related to the treatment of spinal disorders. [11] [12]
In 2005, Michelson sold many of his spine-related patents to Medtronic for $1.35 billion, [13] placing him on the Forbes 400 list. [14] A legal battle with Medtronic over the origins of the patents preceded the sale. In 2004, Michelson cross-filed in response to Medtronic's 2001 suit, and was awarded financial damages for both lawsuits by the jury. [15] The legal defense against Medtronic's suit established a major legal precedent in 2004, governing who bears the cost of pre-trial discovery of electronic evidence. [16]
The Gary Karlin Michelson, M.D. Charitable Foundation, Inc. was founded in 1995 through a $100 million contribution from Dr. Michelson (it was later renamed the Michelson Medical Research Foundation in 2005). [13] The nonprofit does not accept donations. [17]
The Michelson Center for Public Policy endorsed a 2021 bill from U.S. representative for Florida's 16th congressional district Vern Buchanan to end an FDA requirement that animal testing be used to determine a drug's efficacy on humans. [18]
In 2005, Michelson launched the Found Animals Foundation, a 501(c)(3) private operating foundation dedicated to animal welfare. [19] In response to Hurricane Katrina, the foundation created the Found Animals Registry, the first free national pet microchipping registry. [19] Found Animals also performs surveys of pet owners, to study industry trends and owner/pet relationships. [20]
In 2008, the foundation launched the Michelson Prize and Grants in Reproductive Biology, [21] a $75 million initiative to create a safe and effective single-dose, non-surgical spay/neuter method for cats and dogs. The program includes the $25 million Michelson Prize, [22] and an additional $50 million provided by Michelson to fund medical research in support of the prize. [6] To date, the program has awarded 41 grants, including a gene therapy approach that could keep potentially keep felines kitten-free for almost two years. [23] [24]
In 2020, the foundation launched the Better Neighbor Project to support low income and homeless pet owners with food and veterinary services. [25] In 2021, the Found Animals Registry was acquired by Pethealth Inc. (a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial). [26] The foundation is also on the board of the Best Friends Animal Society's No-Kill Los Angeles initiative. [27]
For World Spay Day 2024, the foundation donated $1 million to Community Animal Medicine Project clinics in Southern California. [28] In October 2024, recognized for his work in animal welfare, Michelson was among the group of honorees at the Malibu Sunset Soirée For Animals event. [29] In the same month, the Community Animal Medicine Project (CAMP) hosted the Pet Gala where Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass, presented the Michelson's with the Pioneer Award. [30]
The Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative, launched by Michelson Found Animals and the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), aims to educate and advocate for legislation that removes barriers for pet owners in housing. [31] [32]
Dr. Michelson was a contributing author to the free 2016 textbook The Intangible Advantage: Understanding Intellectual Property in the New Economy, written for non-lawyers and undergraduate students to better understand patents, copyrights, and trademarks. [33] In 2016, the new Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property was formed, to provide free intellectual property-related educational resources. [34]
Formed in 2005, the Michelson Medical Research Foundation aims to promote innovation in medicine and science. [35] Its initiatives include the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, [36] the Institute for Protein Design at the University of Washington, [37] and the California Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy at the new UCLA Research Park, announced in January 2024. [38] [39]
In 2017, Michelson and his wife Alya launched the Michelson Prize, to support medically relevant research by scientists under the age of 36. The 2020 Michelson Prizes were awarded to Danika Hill, research fellow at Australia's Monash University, and Michael Birnbaum, assistant professor at MIT. [40]
In 2024 through the Michelson Medical Research Foundation, the Michelson's gifted $120 million to help with the launch of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy which will be located in UCLA's Research Park. [41]
In 2013, he became a principal supporter of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, giving birth to the Michelson Neglected Disease Vaccine Initiative to provide access to affordable treatments for tropical diseases. [42] [43]
In 2011, Michelson created the Twenty Million Minds Foundation (named for the number of students enrolled in higher education in the United States), to make college more affordable by underwriting a library of free online textbooks. [44] In 2016, Michelson publicly released a variety of intellectual property tools through the organization. [34]
The Spark Grants platform was launched by 20MM in March 2019, designed to truncate the lengthy grant-funding process. [34] The foundation partnered with California for the first California Digital Divide Challenge in 2020, offering a $1 million prize for the best proposal to expand broadband access in the state. [45]
The Michelson 20MM Foundation has been a leading force in closing the digital divide through convenings and energetic advocacy. [46] It brought together national leaders from government, industry, NGOs, academia for a series of high-level meetings and commissioned research that ultimately resulted in the FCC adopting new rules to eliminate discrimination in access to internet services. [47]
Since 2017, Michelson has funded and successfully advanced various pieces of legislation. Those include:
Michelson lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Alya, and their three children.
In the December 2015 issue of Forbes magazine, Michelson was featured as one of "10 People with Big Ideas to Change the World". [58]
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States."
The University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine is the largest veterinary school in the United States. Established in 1948, the school is the primary health resource for California's animal populations. In 2020, the school was again ranked first in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and in 2022, ranked second in the world by QS World University Rankings. The school is located in the southwest corner of the main campus of the University of California, Davis. The current dean of veterinary medicine is Dr. Mark Stetter.
Medtronic plc is an American-Irish medical device company. The company's operational and executive headquarters are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its legal headquarters are in Ireland due to its acquisition of Irish-based Covidien in 2015. While it primarily operates in the United States, it operates in more than 150 countries and employs over 90,000 people. It develops and manufactures healthcare technologies and therapies. It is one of the biggest medical tech companies in the world and is currently the largest medical device company in the world by revenue.
A microchip implant is an identifying integrated circuit placed under the skin of an animal. The chip, about the size of a large grain of rice, uses passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, and is also known as a PIT tag. Standard pet microchips are typically 11–13 mm long and 2 mm in diameter.
The Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) is an annual science fair in the United States. It is owned and administered by the Society for Science, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. Each May, more than 1800 students from roughly 75 countries and territories compete in the fair for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips and the grand prizes, including one $75,000 and two $50,000 college scholarships. All prizes together amount to over $8,000,000. Two major awards ceremonies are the Special Awards Organization Presentation and the Grand Awards Ceremony. The International Science and Engineering Fair was founded in 1950 by Science Service and was sponsored by Intel from 1997 to 2019. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals became the title sponsor for ISEF in 2020, but the event was cancelled that year and replaced with an online version due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 ISEF was a fully virtual event while 2022 was held online and in-person in Atlanta, GA, and 2023 was in person in Dallas, TX. The 2024 ISEF was held in person in Los Angeles, CA. The 2025 ISEF will be held in Columbus, OH.
In some countries there is an overpopulation of pets such as cats, dogs, and exotic animals. In the United States, six to eight million animals are brought to shelters each year, of which an estimated three to four million are subsequently euthanized, including 2.7 million considered healthy and adoptable. Euthanasia numbers have declined since the 1970s, when U.S. shelters euthanized an estimated 12 to 20 million animals. Most humane societies, animal shelters and rescue groups urge animal caregivers to have their animals spayed or neutered to prevent the births of unwanted and accidental litters that could contribute to this dynamic.
Alfred E. Mann, also known as Al Mann, was an American physicist, inventor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.
Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. Dogs Trust's primary objective is to protect all dogs in the UK and elsewhere from maltreatment, cruelty and suffering. It focuses on the rehabilitation and rehoming of dogs which have been either abandoned or given up by their owners through rehoming services.
Karen Dawn is an American animal rights and welfare advocate and writer.
Joybound People & Pets, formerly the Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF), is a nonprofit organization founded by Elaine and Tony La Russa, based in Walnut Creek, California. Joybound rescues dogs and cats from public animal shelters where they would otherwise be euthanized and adopts them into new homes. Their programs include a spay and neuter clinic, training classes, psychiatric service dog training for military veterans, a volunteer therapy dog program, and humane education programs for children.
The Michelson Prize and Grants in Reproductive Biology Program is a $75 million (USD) initiative to create a safe and effective, single-dose, nonsurgical sterilant for male and female cats and dogs. It includes a $25 million (USD) prize for the first entity to develop a product that meets a series of criteria, which include: a single-dose, permanent, nonsurgical sterilant; safe and effective in male and female cats and dogs, ablates sex steroids and/or their effects, suitable for administration in a field setting, viable pathway to regulatory approval, and reasonable manufacturing process and cost. The program has also committed up to $50 million (USD) in grant funding for promising research in pursuit of a sterilant that meets these criteria. To date, $19 million has been awarded to 41 research projects worldwide, including a 2023 study on durable anti-Mullerian hormone treatments for female cats.
Adopt a Pet is an adoption web service that advocates pet adoption, gathering information from over 15,000 pet shelters in the U.S. and Canada, with a searchable data base. The web site promotes spaying and neutering of pets and pet adoption through conventional and social media presence, public service announcements, and interactions with local governments. Since 2015, Adopt a Pet has been offering its visitors manuals for pets.
The Western University College of Veterinary Medicine is a non-profit, private, veterinary medical school at Western University of Health Sciences located in Pomona, in the US state of California. The college consists of more than 400 veterinary medical students, and confers the degree Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. The college was established in 1998 as the first veterinary school to open in the country in 20 years. The college is fully accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association.
The USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience is a building at the University of Southern California. The center is the largest building on the University Park campus and provides 190,000 square feet of laboratories and office space.
The Michelson Medical Research Foundation is a private, non-profit philanthropy founded by orthopedic spinal surgeon and inventor Gary K. Michelson. The foundation aims to solve global health issues by promoting the development of innovative ideas in medicine and bioscience.
Alya Michelson, also known as Alya, is a Russian-born philanthropist, songwriter, and singer. A vocalist on the Grammy Award-winning album Mystic Mirror by White Sun, she was formerly a special correspondent for Russia's international news agency, RIA Novosti, and a news anchor for Vesti-FM and Mayak. She is the co-chair of Michelson Philanthropies and a member of the California Film Commission's board of directors. She released her debut album, Ten Years of Solitude, in February 2019.
Rory A. Cooper is an American bioengineer who currently serves as FISA/PVA Distinguished Professor, Past Chair, in the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology and professor of bioengineering, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and orthopedic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh. He is also assistant vice chancellor for research for STEM and Health Sciences Collaboration, and a National Medal of Technology and Innovation Laureate. He holds an adjunct faculty position at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, and is an invited professor at Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an, China.
Ann S. Tsukamoto Weissman is an Asian American stem cell researcher and inventor. In 1991, she co-patented a process that allowed the human stem cell to be isolated and demonstrated their potential in treating patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Moshe Shoham is a professor emeritus in the faculty of mechanical engineering at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology.
Ryan Abbott is a British-American academic, attorney, physician, writer, and public speaker who is currently Professor of Law and Health Sciences at the University of Surrey School of Law, as well as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine.