NSU's Overall Case Statement | Realizing Potential Campaign

26 Investing in NEURO-SCIENCE MEDICINE NSU’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine is the only research and treatment center of its kind, bringing together multiple core medical and scientific disciplines in one place. Robert Schemel first became aware of Nancy Klimas, M.D., the institute’s director, and her groundbreaking research 27 years ago. After following her globally recognized work with chronic fatigue syndrome and other neuro-immune disorders for years, he visited NSU’s Institute for Neuro- Immune Medicine in 2012 to find out how her team was tackling such diseases as HIV/AIDS, fibromyalgia, autism spectrum disorder, Lyme disease, and Gulf War syndrome. Then he asked how he could help. The result was two $2-million endowments creating a research fund and the Schemel Professor for Neuro-Immune Medicine. The Schemel Family Foundation’s gift allowed NSU to recruit Mary Ann Fletcher, Ph.D., a leader in the study of immunology of infectious diseases. She brought along a research grant and then secured two others—including a $1.95-million, 100 percent federally funded grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “My thought has always been that if we can get the right people to the table—passionate, excited, and talented—we could move science forward to clinical care by accelerating a process that could take laboratory scientists decades to achieve.” —Nancy Klimas, M.D. Professor of Medicine | Chair, Department of Immunology Director, Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine