Mendoza Family’s Gift Accelerates Breakthrough MS Research
Through a $500,000 commitment, the Mendoza Family Fund, established in partnership with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, is advancing regenerative stem cell research and expanding treatment access at UHealth’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence.
On July 9, Fernando Mendoza and his family arrived at UHealth – University of Miami Health System ready to turn years of personal commitment into lasting change.
They toured the transplantation and cellular therapy laboratory, stood beside the researchers advancing the future of multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment and gathered for a check presentation recognizing Fernando Mendoza’s $500,000 gift to support multiple sclerosis research at UHealth through the Mendoza Family Fund.
The funding will help advance regenerative stem cell treatments aimed not only at managing MS, but at potentially stopping disease progression and restoring function, while expanding patient access at UHealth and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
It was a milestone made possible by the determination and love of a family inspired to make a difference for millions around the world living with MS.
A Family’s Conviction
Elsa Mendoza lives with multiple sclerosis. Over the years, her son Fernando, Miami native and No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, along with brothers Alberto and Max, and their father, Dr. Fernando Mendoza, have channeled that reality into a national movement, galvanizing support for MS research, services and awareness. The Mendoza Family Fund is the next chapter.
“People sometimes ask me where resiliency comes from,” Fernando said. “The answer is not football. It’s always been my mom.”
He reflected on the moment he learned the full weight of his mother’s diagnosis.
“From that day forward, I never saw someone struggling with MS. I just saw my mom, the same person who encouraged us every day, who always put family first and who always put a smile on her face no matter how hard the day was,” he said.
![Fernando Mendoza, his family, National Multiple Sclerosis Society representatives, and University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and UHealth leaders pose during a ceremonial presentation of a $500,000 check establishing the Mendoza Family Fund to support multiple sclerosis stem cell research. Participants stand in front of a UHealth and Miller School backdrop, with Elsa Mendoza seated in a wheelchair at the center of the group. [Mendoza UM...FINAL 5-1 | Word], [Mendoza Fa...Comms Plan | Word]](https://i0.wp.com/news.med.miami.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/img-mendoza-family-fund.jpg?resize=1100%2C733&ssl=1)
Evoking the words he shared when he accepted the Heisman Trophy, Fernando spoke to what has guided his family’s purpose.
“My mom showed me what real toughness looks like. It’s quiet, it’s not loud, and it’s choosing hope. I might have been talking about football, but I was really talking about life,” he said.
“The Mendoza family has done something remarkable,” said Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., CEO of UHealth and executive vice president for health affairs at the University of Miami. “They have transformed a deeply personal experience into an act of extraordinary generosity that will touch lives far beyond their own. At UHealth and the Miller School, we are committed to honoring that trust through the quality of our science and the ambition of our care. We are proud to be their partners in this mission, and we are grateful for their belief in what we are building here.”
Where Discovery Meets Care
The Mendoza Family Fund supports National MS Society programs and services and advances research focused on cures and affordable treatment for people affected by MS. Fernando Mendoza’s initial $500,000 gift through the fund is supporting research at UHealth’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence, a National MS Society-affiliated program and one of the Southeast’s most comprehensive MS care and research enterprises, serving more than 3,500 patients across South Florida, surrounding states and Latin America. Part of the University of Miami neurology and neurosurgery program ranked No. 23 nationally among 1,227 programs by U.S. News & World Report, the MS Center is led by Flavia Nelson, M.D., professor of neurology and the Thomas F. Whigham-Joseph Berger Chair in Neuroimmunology.
Dr. Nelson serves as principal investigator for a first-of-its-kind U.S. clinical trial testing intrathecal stem cell transplantation for secondary progressive MS, a stage of the disease for which effective treatment options remain out of reach. Launching later this year, the Phase IIb trial will span four U.S. sites, including the Miller School, NYU, Harvard-Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Southern California, as well as two sites in Israel. Built through a landmark collaboration with Denise L. Pereira, M.D., associate director for clinical operations in Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Division of Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, the program reached a historic milestone in December 2025: the first hematopoietic stem cell transplant performed in an MS patient in Florida.
“Philanthropic investments like Fernando’s initial commitment through the Mendoza Family Fund allow us to push the boundaries of what’s possible,” said Dr. Nelson. “They accelerate innovation, open doors to new clinical trials and help us bring promising therapies to patients faster, offering real hope to individuals and families living with this disease.”
Dr. Pereira spoke to the power of what has been built between their programs.
“What we have established between our transplantation program and Dr. Nelson’s MS Center is something rare: two centers of excellence working in true alignment, bringing together the best of cellular therapy and neurology for the benefit of MS patients. The Mendoza Family Fund amplifies everything we are capable of doing together.”
Reaching Those with Limited Access
The gift will also help advance the NG01 Expanded Access Program, a critical pathway for patients with advanced MS who do not qualify for standard clinical trials. By helping offset transplant costs and investing in specialized personnel, it ensures that financial barriers do not determine who has access to promising new treatment options.
“For many of our patients, access to cutting-edge treatment is about more than innovation,” Dr. Nelson said. “It is about preserving independence, maintaining quality of life and creating new possibilities for the future.”
Research That Shapes Generations
Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean and chief academic officer of the Miller School, placed this gift within the context of the institution’s deepening commitment to neuroscience. The University of Miami has pledged more than $30 million to bolster basic science research, with a major infusion into neuroscience, reflecting its ambition to become one of the nation’s defining centers for understanding and treating neurological disease.
“Research may begin in the laboratory,” Dean Ford said, “but it is often fueled first by someone choosing to believe that a better future is possible. This gift has the potential to change lives for generations of patients and families.”
Jose Romano, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Neurology, has reflected on what makes this program and moment distinctive.
“Discovery science is not an individual sport. We need interdisciplinary collaborations, because the knowledge in this field is expanding too rapidly for any one discipline to tackle alone,” he said.
A Partnership with Purpose
Bruce Bebo, Ph.D., chief research and medical affairs officer at the National MS Society, celebrated what the Mendoza family has set in motion.
“The Mendoza family did not just make a gift, he said. “They launched a fund, and the Mendoza Family Fund has already brought thousands of people behind them, helping move this discovery out of the lab and closer to real, affordable, accessible treatment for the nearly one million people in the United States living with MS.”
For Fernando, the gratitude behind his family’s generosity runs deeper than any number on a check.
“To the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and especially Dr. Nelson and your amazing team, thank you for taking care of families impacted by MS,” he said. “It means that parents have more reasons to believe they are going to have treatments and cures in their lifetimes, and that sons and daughters like my brothers and me can believe in a better future.”
To support innovative MS research and clinical care at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, visit this giving page. To stay connected to the Mendoza family efforts, follow @fernandomendoza on social media. For additional information about supporting UHealth’s Multiple Sclerosis Center of Excellence at University of Miami, email Tricia Keck.
Tags: Dean Henri Ford, Department of Neurology, Dr. Flavia Nelson, Dr. Henri Ford, Dr. Jose Romano, MS, multiple sclerosis, neurology, philanthropy, stem cell therapies