Doctor's family donates $3 million to NEOUCOM

The research building will bear the name of the benefactor and his wife.
ROOTSTOWN -- The family of a deceased Youngstown doctor has given a Northeast Ohio medical school $3 million, the largest donation in the school's history.
The family of Dr. Chatrchai Watanakunakorn presented the donation Friday to the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. It will be used to create the Dr. Chatrchai Watanakunakorn endowed chair in microbiology and immunology and to fund a lecture series for health professionals.
A collaborative research building on NEOUCOM's campus also will be renamed the Dr. Chatrchai and Eleanor Watanakunakorn Medical Research Building in recognition of the gift.
"I know my father would be pleased with this gift to NEOUCOM," said Dr. Watanakunakorn's son, Paul, a 1998 NEOUCOM graduate and Youngstown doctor, in a press release.
"Growing up, my sister, Maria, and I witnessed firsthand my father's love of medicine and medical education. This gift will allow his work to continue at NEOUCOM and create a lasting legacy."
Background
Dr. Chatrchai Watanakunakorn was the first infectious disease specialist to practice in Youngstown. He was hospital epidemiologist and chief of infectious diseases at St. Elizabeth Health Center when he died in July 2001.
From 1979 to 2001, Dr. Watanakunakorn served as a professor of internal medicine at NEOUCOM, where he also was a member of the school's academic council and chairman of its faculty appointments and promotions committee.
He received several awards from professional organizations, as well as NEOUCOM's Liebelt/Wheeler Award for Faculty Excellence in 1994 and the Dean's Award in 1995.
"Dr. Watanakunakorn's dedication to medical education, his passion for research and his commitment to quality patient care will live in perpetuity at NEOUCOM," Dr. Lois Margaret Nora, NEOUCOM's president and dean, said in a press release.
"I know that Dr. Watanakunakorn is deeply missed in our community, but we can find comfort in the fact that his positive influence on future physicians will live on, thanks to the foresight and generosity of both him and his family."