The Marcus Foundation awarded $28.7 million to Chuck Murry, MD, PhD, director of the USC Stem Cell Center, to support a clinical trial testing a stem cell-based therapy to regenerate heart muscle after severe heart attack. The gift is the largest the foundation has provided to the University of Southern California. The funding is designed to move the program through the clinical phase with an eye toward restoring functional myocardium rather than only managing symptoms after infarction. The commitment signals sustained philanthropic backing for translational cardiovascular regeneration efforts—an area where large clinical outcome datasets remain scarce.