$100 million naming gift from Edward and Pearl Fein to advance dementia research and care

The University of California, San Francisco has received a transformative $100 million gift from the Edward Fein Charitable Trust to support its renowned Memory and Aging Center. In recognition, the division will be renamed the Edward and Pearl Fein Memory and Aging Center, the first UCSF division ever named through philanthropy.

“This visionary gift will accelerate the pace of research, education, and care for people with dementia,” said UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood, MBBS. “Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s are affecting more people than ever, making this work increasingly urgent.”

Unlike many large endowments, the Fein Trust’s contribution is unrestricted, giving UCSF scientists and clinicians flexibility to fund emerging discoveries in Alzheimer’s and brain aging research.

“This ensures that the Fein MAC’s work will continue for generations to come,” said S. Andrew Josephson, MD, chair of UCSF’s Department of Neurology.

Edward Fein, a Brooklyn-born stockbroker and financial analyst who retired in 1972, was a longtime UCSF patient and benefactor. Along with his late wife Pearl, he championed medical research and sought to leave a lasting legacy advancing dementia care and discovery.

The Fein Memory and Aging Center, part of the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, has played a pioneering role in developing brain scans and blood tests that help diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier and guide new therapies. Its scientists lead major national trials to test promising treatments and improve care for patients and families.

Under founding director Bruce Miller, MD, the Fein Center has made groundbreaking findings, including evidence that frontotemporal dementia, which erodes personality and memory, can also spark hidden artistic creativity. Using brain imaging, Miller’s team found that as language areas degenerate, visual processing regions may activate, offering new insights into the brain’s adaptability.

“Our strength lies in bringing expert clinicians and discovery scientists together,” Miller said. “That collaboration has yielded remarkable insights into how the brain forms new connections—and how we might harness that in treatment.”

The Fein Center’s mission extends beyond research to education and global collaboration. Through initiatives like the Global Brain Health Institute, it trains physicians, psychologists, social workers, and artists from around the world to address dementia’s growing toll. By 2050, an estimated 150 million people worldwide will be living with the disease.

Gil Rabinovici, MD, the Edward and Pearl Fein Distinguished Professor at UCSF, praised the family’s enduring partnership: “Edward, Pearl, and I shared a vision for advancing brain health in the face of a global challenge. Their trust and generosity have been vital to this mission.”

The gift continues a wave of philanthropic investment in neuroscience at UCSF, following major contributions from Lifestyles Magazine/Meaningful Influence cover subjects, philanthropists Sanford and Joan Weill, underscoring the private sector’s expanding role in accelerating breakthroughs in brain health.

Inset photo: Bruce Miller, MD (left), founding director of the Fein Memory and Aging Center; Gil Rabinovici, MD (center), Edward and Pearl Fein Distinguished Professor; and S. Andrew Josephson, MD (right), chair of UCSF Neurology.