If you've ever worked in a laboratory, Kenneth Rainin probably designed your pipettes. And if you ever undergo cataract surgery, you'll benefit from the comfort of a flexible, minimally invasive intraocular lens implant thanks in part to Rainin's work in soft acrylics. True, there were pipettes and artificial lenses before he came along, but Rainin made them better.

His endeavors didn't stop there, and if his hopes are realized, sufferers of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) will one day be coming to UCSF to be cured.

Rainin, who died in May of 2007, had a gift for improving things. At the age of 25, he founded his first company, Rainin Instrument Co., and began doing just that. He saw an opportunity for design improvement in the pipettes his company was distributing, so he developed his own ergonomic line that became the standard in laboratories the world over.

His daughter, Jennifer, recalls, "My father would see a problem, gather the best people around him, and inspire them to come up with creative solutions."

Unfortunately, for the last 15 years of his life Rainin suffered from ulcerative colitis – one of the two most common manifestations of IBD. Though treatable, there is no cure for IBD. Its victims suffer throughout their lives both from the debilitating disease as well as from the litany of side effects that accompany the most effective treatment methods.

Rainin's treatment for IBD at UCSF turned the entrepreneur's philanthropic attention to the University. The result was a series of significant gifts over the past decade, including a research fund, a professorship, and funding to start the UCSF Center for Colitis and Crohn's Disease.

In his final attempt at improving the world around him, Rainin left $18 million to the UCSF School of Medicine through his trust. Fifteen million will support the ongoing quest for better treatments and a cure for IBD. The other $3 million will go to the Department of Neurology – Rainin also suffered a stroke late in life for which he received care at UCSF.

"My father loved finding better ways of doing things, and facilitating improvements in systems and organizations," continues Jennifer. "I think he saw that UCSF was poised to take off and become a leader in addressing these problems, so he wanted to give them the funding they need to do so. He knew that UCSF would use this money to advance basic and clinical research in IBD, and to continue training the neurologists who would make a difference in the lives of people who suffered from the same things that he did."

For information on IBD research, contact Helen Dannelly at 415/502-6293 or HDannelly@support.ucsf.edu. For information on giving to neurology, contact Eden Jacoby at 415/476-3632 or EJacoby@support.ucsf.edu.