The University of California at San Francisco announced last week that it has received a $185 million donation from Sanford and Joan Weill to help build the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and to advance other projects.
The university said the donation is the biggest gift in the school’s history and will fund the construction of a 270,000-square-foot, six-story neurosciences building on its Mission Bay campus.
The donation also will help support a scholars program that allows neuroscience graduate students to pursue high-risk research, according to the university.
Sanford Weill, chairman of the executive council for UCSF Health and former CEO of Citigroup, said in a news release that he and his wife were inspired to make the gift because they recognized the potential of UCSF physicians and scientists to significantly advance the understanding of brain diseases and lay the groundwork for new therapies.
The university expects to start construction on the institute next fall, with completion by 2020.
