MEANING OF LIFE THE

COMBATTING NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES WITH HEART AND COMMITMENT

As they were discussing wellness on the way to a Houston Texans football game one fall morning, John M. O’Quinn told his longtime business partner and foundation trustee Rob Wilson III, “At some time, I want to give a meaningful gift to Houston Methodist — that’s number one on my list.”

Discovering meaning and purpose in life energized O’Quinn. He rose from a modest start to graduate first in his class at the University of Houston Law Center before becoming one of the most sought-after plaintiffs’ attorneys in the country. Driven by a powerful sense of justice and the desire to change lives for the better, O’Quinn represented the underserved in his professional life and championed societal advances in education, health care, the environment and services for underprivileged youth through the eponymous foundation he created in 1986.

O’Quinn’s admiration for Houston Methodist in life translated to philanthropic support following his unexpected passing in 2009, including endowments establishing The John M. O’Quinn Centennial Chair in Concussion Research and Care in 2018 and The John M. O’Quinn Foundation Presidential Distinguished Chair in Neurology in 2021. His stated intention from that fall morning, though, truly became a reality in 2023, when The O’Quinn Foundation made a transformational gift — one of the largest gifts made by the foundation since his death — to Houston Methodist to support research, education and patient services across a full spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders.

“We’re very passionate about brain research,” says Wilson, O’Quinn’s friend of three decades and now president of the foundation. Wilson adds that members of the foundation and their families know firsthand the impacts of neurological diseases.

The recent philanthropic investment establishes The John M. O’Quinn Foundation Neurodegenerative Disorders Laboratory, through which an interdisciplinary team of neurologists and neuroscientists in the Houston Methodist Stanley H. Appel Department of Neurology conducts innovative research, runs clinical trials and develops new treatments for disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, peripheral neuropathies, ataxia and Parkinson’s disease. The gift will support ongoing and new research as well as help attract the brightest in the field thanks to the creation of two endowed chairs for neurodegenerative disorders research and an endowed fellowship.

A confluence of factors makes this research an urgent matter. The World Health Organization projects the number of people over age 65 will at least double in 30 years, resulting in a larger population most at risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, these conditions are among the most complex due to a wide range of potential causes — or none at all — a variety of symptoms, and few to no biomarkers that can be accurately and reproducibly measured.