A Remarkable Woman

Janet Mock and her husband, Jeff, traveled from their home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, to Scripps Research in La Jolla in early May 2019 on a mission: to personally deliver a bequest from Janet’s aunt, Edna Canham, to the institute.
 
“Edna was a remarkable woman,” recalls Janet, “very strong and very independent. She wrote specific instructions in her will that she wanted her money to go—not to some building or parking lot—but to support scientific research. We reached out to Scripps Research and were invited down for a campus tour and to meet some of the scientists studying liver disease, which was of particular interest to my aunt.”
 
Edna had once experienced a very severe bout of liver disease for which the cause was never determined. She was cured and continued on with an active life that included world travels (she made solo trips to Norway to visit relatives) and regular golf outings with her husband, Richard, (she had two holes-in-one to her credit). “She was very sharp right up until she passed away at age 94,” says Janet.
 
At Scripps Research, Janet and Jeff met the institute’s executive vice president, Jamie Williamson, PhD, as well as Philippe Galay, PhD, a professor of immunology. Gallay studies hepatitis C virus (HCV), which causes chronic liver inflammation in as many as 85% of the people who become infected. “Meeting Dr. Gallay and touring his lab was a wonderful and gratifying experience,” says Jeff. “But the highlight was knowing that Edna’s gift will go directly to Dr. Gallay, his team and their research into the causes, preventions and treatments of hepatic diseases.”
 
“We left with a really good feeling,” adds Janet. “I know my aunt would be pleased that her bequest was going toward research with the potential to improve the lives of so many people.”