President, Co-Chair Michelson Medical Research Foundation
Michelson launched the Michelson Medical Research Foundation in 1995. The orthopedic spinal surgeon holds more than 950 issued or pending medical patents. Michelson became a billionaire in 2005 thanks to a $1.35 billion settlement with medical manufacturing giant Medtronic that followed an extended legal battle over his patents. In 2014, Michelson gifted $50 million to USC to establish the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. In January, the Michelson Medical Research Foundation was announced as one of the founding partners of the new California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at a planned UCLA research park at the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall in Westwood. Michelson is serving as board chair for the new institute; he has called it a “Field of Dreams” for biomedical research that will revolutionize human health, prevent and cure disease, and be a catalyst for economic growth and innovation. Michelson has also established other philanthropic organizations, including Michelson Found Animals Foundation that focuses on securing homes for pets and pet microchip initiatives.
YEARS ON LA500: 8
