A new multimillion dollar donation from Beth Friedman and her husband, Joshua Friedman, will enable Deborah Krakow, MD, to continue her game-changing research on the role of heredity and genetics in disease risk and outcomes. Dr. Krakow has been pursuing this research for decades – roughly the same amount of time she has known the Friedmans.
“Our relationship really does go back 30 years. Beth has always taken a keen interest in my study of the role of genetics in understanding everything from congenital birth defects to mental health, cancer and even aging,” said Dr. Krakow, chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UCLA Health.
The gift establishes the Joshua S. and Beth C. Friedman Chair for Women's Genetic Research and the Beth C. Friedman Award for Reproductive Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. It also supports UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine.
In acknowledgement of their support, the Friedmans were honored with the naming of the Beth C. and Joshua S. Friedman Executive Leadership Center at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Years of support
Beth Friedman has been a regular supporter of the UCLA health care system for many years, as well as actively participating through a number of important leadership roles. She served as chair of the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Board of Advisors from 2020 to 2022 and continues to serve as a member of the Board as well as the Executive Committee. She also continues her long-term service on the Board of Advisors and the Executive Committee of UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital.
“As volunteers at UCLA, Josh and I have been able to observe and experience firsthand the exceptional contributions of our health care professionals. The range and depth of those contributions are both awe-inspiring and directly impactful on the treatment of disease as well as on the quality of patients’ lives. It is especially gratifying that we are also supporting the training of a new generation of outstanding health care professionals,” Friedman says.
“But none of this can happen without the truly inspirational work of the talented executives, led by President Johnese Spisso, who manage UCLA’s large and complex health care system.”
Helping families
The Friedmans’ association with UCLA Health began when their middle son, Wesley, broke his back in a skiing accident and was treated within the health care system.
“We very suddenly needed the expert medical services offered at UCLA,” says Beth Friedman, who earned her MBA at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. “Over the course of a year of treatment, we became very grateful parents of a very grateful patient. Both Josh and I wanted to show our gratitude for the great care that Wesley received, so we decided to get more involved in UCLA Health, beginning with joining the Advisory Board of the Department of Neurosurgery.”
Beth Friedman says the couple’s goal has always been to support UCLA Health’s work in helping families.
“That includes supporting the health needs of mothers and prospective mothers, dealing with the trauma of disease and accidents, and promoting a healthy lifestyle and wellness,” she says. “As broad as these areas may seem, the common thread is relatively simple: to support healthy families by supporting extraordinary scientists, physicians and leaders at UCLA.”
Genetic Research Chair
The Joshua S. and Beth C. Friedman Chair for Women’s Genetic Research will support a faculty member in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with an expertise in women’s health and genetics.
Reproductive Sciences
The Joshua S. and Beth C. Friedman Award for Reproductive Sciences funds an endowed program that will provide annual faculty awards to advance research in women’s health.
Unrestricted Gift to UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital
Beth Friedman has served on the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital Board of Advisors for more than a decade. The unrestricted funds will support the care of underinsured and uninsured patients and families in UCLA’s pediatric inpatient and outpatient clinics, to be awarded at the discretion of Spisso, president of UCLA Health, CEO of the UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences.
“We are forever grateful to the extraordinary professionals at Mattel, who were there for us and are there for so many other families in times of great need,” says Friedman.
UCLA Center for East-West Medicine
The Friedmans established a new fund in the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, which melds traditional Chinese medicine and Western medical techniques.
“In my view, UCLA Center for East-West Medicine is a hidden gem,” Beth Friedman says. “The best approach to family health care includes wellness, and this is where patients are treated holistically using practices like acupuncture combined with diet to help manage stress and prevent disease. Our gift will be used to train more physicians in this area as the demand for these services increases.”
Jennifer Karmarkar is the author of this article.
