Philanthropy

The Tananbaum Center for Theoretical & Analytical Human Biology

In 2022, through Jim and Dana’s support, Yale launched the Tananbaum Center for Theoretical and Analytical Human Biology, led by Ruslan Medzhitov. The center is designed as a collaborative model, in which researchers with wide expertise across the Yale ecosystem come together to develop models of biology that explain biology and living systems in the same way that basic laws of physics explain the physical world around us. Jim’s hope is that this foundation will lead to understanding of life forces that significantly contribute to the next century of biological research. Jim and Dana Tananbaum will be funding the recruitment of the faculty, which will include researchers from various fields of expertise such as: data science, biomedical informatics, physics, pathology, medicine, computer science, cell biology and clinicians.

“I expect the Tananbaum Center for Theoretical and Analytical Human Biology to be a long-term play that will hold an increasingly important role in life sciences over the next century….As I look further out to the future, I see a world in which we begin to understand what life is and what creates life forces, and how biology is constructed from matter.”

Jim Tananbaum

Scholarship & Fellowship

Yale College

Jim and Dana have also established scholarships in Yale College and fellowships at the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Their philanthropy created a Family Scholarship Fund at Yale School of Medicine. Jim was formerly a member of advisors to Yale Presidents Rick Levin and Peter Solovey.

Foundational Gift

Center for Computational BioMedicine at Harvard

Jim and Dana have also made a foundational gift to the Center for Computational BioMedicine at Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School. The Center is building machine learning methods to transform the delivery of primary care. Jim and Dana have also contributed to the education of students in the HST program and Harvard Medical School. Mr. Tananbaum is on the Board of advisors to Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School and was formerly a member of the MIT visiting committee overseeing the HST program.

Charity

LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

Jim and Dana have made a significant gift to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Jim has joined its Board of Directors.