Tulane Receives $4M Gift to Strengthen Pulmonary Fibrosis Research
Tulane University has received a $4 million gift to strengthen the School of Medicine’s fight against pulmonary fibrosis and other deadly lung diseases, bolstering its growing reputation as a hub for research and patient care. This visionary commitment establishes the Allen A. Johnson Jr. Distinguished Chair in Medicine Endowed Fund and creates the Allen A. Johnson Jr. Research Acceleration Fund to strengthen translational discovery in the John W. Deming Department of Medicine.
The gifts honor the memory of Allen A. Johnson Jr., a Birmingham, Ala., native who served for 41 years on the board of the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. United, now the second-largest privately held bottler of Coke products in North America. He was the grandson of Crawford Johnson Sr., who founded its predecessor, Birmingham Coca-Cola. Allen Johnson Jr. died in 2021 from pulmonary disease and was under the care of Dr. Victor J. Thannickal, chair of the John W. Deming Department of Medicine at Tulane.
