Mark Zuckerberg and his wife established a new biological center, pledging to give away 99% of their Meta shares to do great things

Tram Ho

More than six years ago, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, announced a decade-long commitment of $3 billion to scientific research. Of that, $600 million was used to establish a biomedical research center in San Francisco with researchers from the University of California and Stanford. By the end of 2021, both Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan have promised an additional $3.4 billion in funding, according to Forbes.

Recently, the couple announced a new biohub in Chicago – which will receive $ 250 million out of a total of $ 6.4 billion from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). In collaboration with Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, this biology center is focused on studying how human tissue works, and developing and applying small sensors into practice. .

In an exclusive interview, Zuckerberg and Chan talk about the new biohub and how it differs from the traditional model. The ultimate goal is to be able to help people cure or control all diseases.

According to Mark Zuckerberg, new tools, combined with a deeper understanding of human biology, will be able to speed up the process of finding effective new cures. Unlike the case studies labs supported by the National Institutes of Health, Zuckerberg and his wife’s biology centers will partner with multiple universities to tackle unanswered questions.

According to Forbes, the biological centers receiving funding include CZ Biohub San Francisco, CZ Biohub Chicago, Kempner Institute for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Bioimaging Institute, etc. operational next April, while the Advanced Bioimaging Institute is due later this year.

It is known that the first CZ Biohub was established in 2016, located opposite UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus, has operated in 2 main areas: developing infectious disease response systems and improving understanding of diseases. how human cells work.

Six months after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, CZ Biohub and UC San Francisco published research by Biohub co-president Joe DeRisi on a COVID-19 rapid test. DeRisi said the study has spurred wider adoption of rapid testing in the Bay Area and California. The team is now turning to understanding how to diagnose malaria quickly and efficiently.

Vợ chồng Mark Zuckerberg thành lập trung tâm sinh học mới, cam kết cho đi 99% cổ phần Meta để làm điều cao cả - Ảnh 1.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife established a new biological center, pledging to give away 99% of their Meta shares to do great things

The early success of CZ Biohub inspired Chan and Zuckerberg. In December 2021, the couple announced an additional investment of up to $3.4 billion over 10 to 15 years. Of which, 1 billion USD will be transferred to Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network.

“We want to do more,” said Dr. Priscilla Chan cheerfully.

In the development of the Chicago Biohub, Chan and Zuckerberg chose to send gold to Shana O. Kelley – a professor of chemistry and biomedical engineering at Northwestern with many years of experience. She also co-founded 4 companies based on her own researched technologies.

According to Ms. Shana O. Kelley, all three universities play a certain role for biohub: Northwestern is strong in sensors, University of Chicago excels in quantum sensors, while researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana -Champaign has successfully developed a micro-crafting system again.

“It’s hard to put into words the excitement here, that we’re going to have a biohub, that we’re going to have the opportunity to research the issues that really matter,” said Kelley, beaming. “This is an opportunity to do science the way we’ve always wanted to do it, after constraints are removed and creativity is free to flow.”

In the past, some typical limitations to research work were time and funding. Many projects do not receive enthusiastic financial support. “To get funding from the National Institutes of Health, you need preliminary data and an idea many experts agree with. That doesn’t happen often, especially with out-of-the-ordinary initiatives.”

Chan, who attended medical school at UC San Francisco and was a pediatrician before becoming co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, explains that her and her husband’s science philanthropy is like a ‘small grain of sand’. ‘.

Vợ chồng Mark Zuckerberg thành lập trung tâm sinh học mới, cam kết cho đi 99% cổ phần Meta để làm điều cao cả - Ảnh 2.

Ms. Shana O. Kelley

“Science funding is a vast field. Their National Institutes of Health grants billions and billions of dollars each year. That’s why, in all of our philanthropic activities, we have to find the right niche.”

It is known that biological centers are only part of the scientific activity of CZI. Last September, Chan and Zuckerberg launched at Harvard University’s Kempner Institute for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, and pledged $500 million over 10 to 15 years to get it up and running. Later this year, the couple continued to open the Institute for Advanced Biological Imaging in Redwood City, California.

According to Forbes, science is just one of a number of areas funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Educating and supporting the Bay Area community to address housing and homelessness is a prime example.

Back in December 2015, Chan and Zuckerberg pledged to direct their 99% stake in Meta to “carry out our missions to advance human potential and equality through philanthropy and activities for the common good.” .

At the time, this was a $45 billion promise. However, the 65% increase in Meta shares since 2015 has increased the value of this commitment to $74 billion.

“We are not necessarily experts in global health. Our focus in the larger ecosystem is fundamental science and technology,” said Jeff MacGregor, spokesman for CZI.

By: Forbes

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Source : Genk