The Lundquist Institute's "Impositive" Float Will Be in the 2022 Rose Parade Celebrating 70 Years of Saving Lives

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Lundquist Institute will have a float in the 2022 Rose Parade called "Impositive" to celebrate its 70^th Anniversary. The float will feature riders whose lives have been saved by the Institute's groundbreaking research. The Lundquist Investigators responsible for the life-saving therapies, Dr. Emil Kakkis and Dr. Yutaka Niihara, will also be riding on the float along with Institute PhD students. Impositive means having optimism against impossible odds.

At 3 years of age, Ryan Dant was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder, MPS I. He was told that he wouldn't live to be 12 years old. Dr. Emil Kakkis was working on a solution: enzyme replacement therapy which was developed on the Lundquist campus in its old Army barracks. Now, due to the life-saving therapy, Ryan is 31, has graduated college and is married.

"At one time, this all seemed impossible but thanks to Dr. Kakkis, The Lundquist and to science, I am now living the life I had once hoped to live," said Ryan. "I'm so happy to ride on the Lundquist float."

Juanita Gougis learned she had sickle cell disease when she was 2 years old. She lived in pain for many years spending most of her early life in the hospital. She knew that people with sickle cell didn't live very long. When she heard about Dr. Niihara's work she had a glimmer of hope. She became part of the clinical trial at the Institute, and it changed her life.

"I will be forever grateful to him and to the Institute," said Juanita. "Because of his treatment, I became a champion swimmer. Life is better for me and I'm so glad to celebrate by riding on The Lundquist Rose Parade float. It's a dream come true."

"There are so many to thank for making the Lundquist float a reality," said David Meyer, PhD, President and CEO of the Lundquist Institute. "Without the generosity of Dr. Kakkis and Dr. Niihara this wouldn't be possible. I especially want to thank our Sr. VP of Public Affairs, Jody Spillane, who presented the idea to me. The theme of Impositive captures the spirit of boundless curiosity and hope that our investigators have as they go about their pioneering work."

Contact for The Lundquist Institute:
Max Benavidez, [email protected], 310-200-2682

SOURCE The Lundquist Institute