Praising the quality of research conducted at the Keck School of Medicine (KSOM), the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation recently announced it would continue to support junior faculty and medical students at the KSOM with a gift of $350,000.

Delia Baxter established the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation in 1959 in honor of her deceased husband, Donald Baxter.

Donald Baxter, a physician and engineer, pioneered the commercial preparation of intravenous solutions, paving the way for widespread use of intravenous therapy.

The foundation typically awards research grants to leading postgraduate private institutions on the west coast.

The Baxter Foundation has supported USC for more than 40 years. The foundation’s first gift was to USC. Its giving is primarily for junior faculty research and medical student research.

The Baxter Foundation is especially interested in giving promising junior faculty a one-time gift of $150,000 to support their research until they are able to qualify for federal support.

This year’s grantees include Ralf Langen, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, who studies neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, and Giselle Petzinger, assistant professor of neurology, a specialist in the area of Parkinson’s disease.

Both recipients will receive $150,000 for their research.

In addition, $50,000 will go to sustain the Baxter Scholar Summer Research Fellowship program for medical students.