An endowed research fund dedicated to discovering the underpinnings of the biology of aging has grown exponentially thanks to a new gift from sisters Lisa and Linda Wong.
The USC Cheong and Mui Wong Endowed Research Fund, named in memory of their parents and created with an initial gift of $100,000, now has assets of $1 million. Leonard Davis School faculty scientists will utilize the funds to study diseases of aging and ultimately how to prevent, diagnose and treat them.
The Wong family immigrated from Hong Kong in the early 1970s. Cheong was a tailor by training but made ends meet in Los Angeles by washing dishes in a restaurant. The chef took a liking to him and gradually taught him how to cook many of the recipes. Cheong later became a chef himself. Linda and Lisa credit their landlord for taking an interest in them when they were young girls—helping them find a good education and figure out how things worked in the United States.
Lisa was a student worker in the USC Leonard Davis School development office in the 1980s and retired from the Los Angeles Police Department as a detective. Linda, also retired, worked for Cal State Los Angeles in the university’s administrative offices.
“We are so pleased that proceeds from the sale of our childhood home will be used to further biology of aging research,” they said. “It is truly fitting that the research fund is named in memory of our parents since they had scrimped and saved to buy this property as recent immigrants from Hong Kong. “
“We are so grateful for this generous gift from Lisa and Linda,” said Dean Pinchas Cohen. “They are truly treasured members of the Leonard Davis School family.”
