Dolly Parton donates $1 million to fund pediatric infectious disease research

CNN

By Chris Boyette, CNN

Dolly Parton has donated $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt said Wednesday.

“I love all children. No child should ever have to suffer, and I’m willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible,” Parton was quoted in a press release from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

According to the press release, Vanderbilt’s division of pediatric infectious diseases conducts research into how viruses and bacteria cause disease, resistance to antibiotics, preventing and treating infections in children with cancer and “research to define the impact of childhood infections throughout the world.”

“Dolly’s previous support to infectious disease research, and also our pediatric cancer program, has already saved countless lives,” Dr. Jeff Balser, president and CEO of VUMC and dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine said in the press release. “This new gift will bolster our defenses against future threats to the safety of this region and society as a whole. It speaks volumes about her passion for people, and we couldn’t be more thankful.”

In April 2020, less than a month after Covid-19 was officially declared a pandemic, Parton donated $1 million to coronavirus research at Vanderbilt that helped fund Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine.

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