North Shore-LIJ gets $15M endowment

North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System has received $15 million to create an endowment for its Graduate School of Molecular Medicine.
The Thomas and Jeanne Elmezzi Private Foundation donated the funds to provide for further advances in molecular science and education of graduate medical students. The school has been renamed Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine in honor of its late benefactors.
Thomas Elmezzi, long-time resident of Great Neck, served as an executive for Pepsi Cola from the early 30’s to 1968. He is credited with reformulating Pepsi and creating Diet Pepsi.
The Elmezzis were both treated on several occasions at the North Shore University Hospital. Consequently, they developed a long-term association with the hospital, supporting several clinical studies, such as the use of a specific hormone treatment in heart surgery patients to reduce post-surgical complications.
“The Elmezzis were good friends to the North Shore-LIJ Health System during their lifetimes,” Michael Dowling, President and CEO of the System, said. “Through the foundation’s generous gift, we will be able to honor their legacy by training future generations of medical researchers.”
Although Elmezzi, the son of poor Italian immigrants, and his wife accumulated a substantial fortune, they lived in the same Great Neck apartment for over 50 years, bequeathing their wealth to the less fortunate. They both died in their 90’s in October 2005, within days of each other.
“Much of the foundation’s support for medical programs has gone to North Shore University Hospital due to Elmezzi’s long-time relationship with the institution,” Jose Rivero, chair of the Elmezzi Foundation, said. “The foundation supports cutting-edge medical research and services that improve the quality of life of people suffering from various medical conditions.”
The newly renamed, Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, is a highly selective Ph.D. program, providing free, individually tailored, three-year training for physicians who aspire to become medical researchers.
The program addresses the growing international concern about the disappearance of physician-scientists at a time they are most in demand. The graduate school is operated through the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, a disease-oriented biometrical research institution with more that 100 doctors.