A $28.7 million donation from The Marcus Foundation to Dr. Chuck Murray, director of University of Southern California’s Stem Cell Center, will go toward advancing clinical trials of stem cell-based therapies to regenerate damaged tissue after a heart attack. The award will also support a parallel track of research on the immune response to cell transplantation that could reduce or eliminate the need for immunosuppressive drugs in patients receiving regenerative cardiac therapies.

Support for medical research is a priority area for The Marcus Foundation, established by Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus and his wife, Billi. Marcus, who died in 2024 at the age of 95, had a particular interest in both stem cells and the heart, Jay Kaiman, the foundation’s president and director, told eJP. 

“Our medical research is one of our five pillars, and has proven that the same entrepreneurial thinking in other areas can also be carried over to medical research with profound impact,” said Kaiman. “Our valve program at Piedmont Hospital and stroke program at Grady Hospital” — both in Atlanta, home of the foundation’s headquarters — “are just two examples of excellence that has had important impact.”

The USC trial, set to take place in 2027, will include a small cohort of about 18 patients who have experienced significant heart muscle damage as a result of a heart attack. Designed primarily to assess safety and feasibility, the study will evaluate delivery of stem-cell-derived heart muscle cells into damaged regions of the heart.

As Fortune recently reported, Marcus’ original ambition was to be a physician. “Bernie might not have been able to become a physician because of quotas, but one could argue he has had a very significant contribution to the medical field,” Kaiman said.

“The Marcus Foundation leads the way when it comes to supporting visionary science that will have a positive impact on society,” said USC President Beong-Soo Kim. “This award also lays the groundwork for additional research opportunities as we accelerate the development of more advanced cellular therapies to save lives.”

This donation marks The Marcus Foundation’s largest gift to USC to date and one of the largest it has given to academic medicine. In 2024, the foundation donated $25.9 million to support stroke research at Emory University School of Medicine and Grady Health System’s Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center, and a $20 million gift in 2019 established the Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College.

Justin Hayet contributed to this report.