Hope is on the Horizon for Iowa Epilepsy Patients
PHOTO COURTESY NATE TROSS
University of Iowa alumni Beth and Nate Tross
Beth Tross knows she’s not alone in confronting epilepsy’s debilitating effects.
The former Montessori preschool teacher understands that millions of people live with her condition, which doctors diagnosed when she was 13. According to the World Health Organization, epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases in the world, affecting 50 million people globally. In addition, nearly five million people receive an epilepsy diagnosis each year, and their risks of premature death are up to three times higher than the general population.
However, Beth and her husband, Nate (82BA), of Highland Park, Illinois, want to help change this reality. Beth attended the University of Iowa from 1978 to 1983 and is a third-generation Hawkeye. Nate earned his economics degree from the university. The couple believes Iowa’s scientists hold the answers to better treatments—and even cures—for patients with epilepsy and other debilitating brain disorders. That’s what has inspired the Trosses to invest in epilepsy research at their alma mater throughout the last several years.
PHOTO: UI HEALTH CARE
George Richerson, head of the UI Department of Neurology and the Roy J. Carver Chair in Neuroscience in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine
Recently, the pair built upon their family’s generous support, which included the creation of the Beth L. Tross Epilepsy Professorship, with a new commitment of $5 million. Their latest pledge will establish the Nate and Beth Tross Epilepsy Cures Fund for pediatric research and the Tross Family Adult Epilepsy Research Fund. A portion of this gift also will support the UI Stanley Museum of Art, where Beth served as an advisory board member.
“Our philanthropy isn’t just about Beth but about all those who suffer,” says Nate, who is president and chief investment officer at Tennyson Capital and sits on the UI Center for Advancement’s board of directors and investment committee. “We understand that medical research takes a great deal of time and money—and we want to help move the ball.”
Iowa is one of the world’s foremost brain research and treatment centers. “We’re at the forefront of doing things that have never been done before,” says George Richerson (87PhD, 87MD), head of the Department of Neurology and the Roy J. Carver Chair in Neuroscience in the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.
PHOTO: UI HEALTH CARE
Alexander Bassuk, chair of the UI Stead Family Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of Stead Family Children’s Hospital
The UI Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery founded the Iowa Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, the state’s only level-four comprehensive epilepsy center, to treat patients from across the Midwest. It also is a resource for neurologists and other neuroscientists around the country.
In addition, Iowa has facilitated some of the first in-human trials for complex brain disorders and is a designated National Institutes of Health Center for Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy Research.
Alexander Bassuk, chair of the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics and physician-in-chief of Stead Family Children’s Hospital, is investigating promising new epilepsy drugs for pediatric patients. He credits the Trosses’ generosity for allowing him, and other trailblazing UI scientists, to explore every possible avenue of discovery.
“Thanks, in part, to their support, we’re taking research from bench to bedside,” says Bassuk. “We’re pioneering innovations that will help us find human treatments and cures for epilepsy within our lifetimes.”
