Eliza Dushku & Peter Palandjian Donate $7.5M To Brigham And Women's Hospital For Substance Use Disorder Research

Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital received a $7.5 million donation from Eliza Dushku Palandjian, her husband and Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation’s CEO Peter Palandjian toward supporting substance use disorders (SUDs) treatments.

Out of the total donated, $5 million will be directed to improve SUDs therapies and to support the Brigham Fund’s efforts assessing the community’s “wide-ranging needs.”

The hospital has in turn renamed its short-term care for patients with addiction Bridge Clinic “The Eliza Dushku Palandjian and Peter Palandjian Bridge Clinic.” The donation would support the development of “safe and effective approaches” of psychedelic therapies for addiction treatment.

With the other $2.5 million, Brigham will launch the Palandjian Family Distinguished Chair in Medicine, to be assumed by the couple’s longstanding physician and the hospital’s interim CMO and senior VP of medical affairs, Dr. Charles Morris. 

Dushku Palandjian says clinical studies are showing that psychedelic-assisted therapy can significantly reduce suffering in measurable ways. “Trauma, treatment-resistant depression, addiction, end-of-life palliative care -mental health in general,- this scientific field holds incredible promise.”

The actress is reportedly completing a master’s degree in counseling and clinical mental health with a focus in psychedelic-assisted therapy.

“Our gift is about honoring, supporting, and inviting in everyone who might come to the clinic,” Dushku expressed. “We’re thrilled to support the committed professionals who treat addiction with a multidisciplinary approach using evidence-based sciences together with holistic integration. These principles have benefited me in my own recovery.”

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“It is humbling to be able to support, thank, honor, and encourage the countless doctors, nurses, administrators, and all Brigham hospital workers who collectively live in service of keeping us healthy,” Peter Palandjian added.

The Brigham and Women’s Hospital president and executive VP at Mass General Brigham, Dr. Robert Higgins, says the organization is thankful to the Palandjians, whose generous support and partnership will have “real, lasting impact” on the development, research, and innovation in the “often-overlooked” area of addiction medicine. 

“Because of the Palandjian’s generosity and the expertise of our outstanding clinical and addiction specialists, we are at the forefront of state-of-the-art treatment for substance use disorders, with the goal of significantly improving outcomes for countless patients,” Higgins concluded.

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Photo courtesy of Brigham and Women's Hospital.