Zuckerberg Pledges $600 Million To Create Bay Area Biohub

UC San Francisco, Stanford University and UC Berkeley said they would collaborate in a new biomedical research center funded with $600 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, M.D.

            The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub will be the first major investment in healthcare and science made by the couple through their philanthropy. They have pledged to donate 99% of their $45 billion net worth to charitable efforts.

            “The biohub will be the sinew that ties together these three institutions in the Bay Area like never before,” said Stephen Quake, a Stanford professor of bioengineering and of applied physics, who will co-lead the biohub.

            The biohub will embark on two initiatives. The Cell Atlas will make data available to researchers about the various cells in each part of the human body and how they function specifically. The Infectious Disease Initiative will focus on new treatments and diagnostics to fight infectious diseases.

            “This initiative will dramatically improve our ability to conduct fundamental research at the intersection of biology and engineering that can lead to important applications for human health,” said Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne.