$1 Million Bequest Supports RWJMS

When 90-year-old Gladys Zimmerman passed away, her family was not surprised to discover that through her will, she left a bequest of nearly $1 million to provide support for medical research, treatment and teaching at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for heart and cancer related illnesses, two causes about which she was passionate.

To fulfill Ms. Zimmerman's wishes, her family established the Kloven, Bessie, Tessie and Gladys Zimmerman Fund through New Jersey Health Foundation (NJHF) and its affiliate, the Foundation of UMDNJ, to provide perpetual financial assistance to Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

"Nothing would have made Gladys happier than to know that her life's savings will be used to fund research and education," explained Phyllis Chudnick and her sister Janet Robinson. "During her lifetime she was passionate about helping medical students and this gift certainly achieves that goal."

So that the family could continue to be involved, a committee consisting of Mrs. Chudnick, her son, Steven Chudnick, sister Janet Robinson and James Golubieski, president of NJHF, was created to provide advice regarding yearly disbursements of funds.

The Fund's first grant of $50,000 to support two cardiovascular projects being conducted by Dr. John B. Kostis, founding director of The Cardiovascular Institute, and his research team were recently awarded:

• "The New Jersey Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System (MIDAS)," the only statewide database for cardiovascular disease including myocardial infarction and stroke with longitudinal follow up and;
• "The Legacy Effect: Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Prolonging Life Expectancy and the Persistence of Benefit" that is exploring the relationship between treatment of high