Columbia University received a $400 million gift from Roy and Diana Vagelos, the largest gift ever made to Columbia University’s medical school. A primary function of this gift will be to significantly expand the mission of the Vagelos-funded institute, which will be established in 2023, according to a Columbia University spokesperson.
“The Roy and Diana Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Science will now provide the infrastructure to unite cutting-edge research in Columbia’s basic science departments, its leading medical and graduate education programs, and the exemplary research initiatives of its clinical departments in a new dynamic organizational model,” Columbia said in a statement. “By bringing together this mix of mutually reinforcing activities, we aim to build the world’s leading ecosystem for biomedical research and attract the next generation of exceptionally creative and collaborative scientists capable of realizing this vision.”
The donation will support the construction of a new biomedical research building, to be named Vagelos Innovation Laboratories, located at the corner of 167th Street and Audubon Avenue on the Washington Heights medical campus. The facility, which will span 55,000 square feet2 of new laboratory space, will be based on the concept of sustainability: the first fully electrified, university-owned laboratory building in New York City.
Vagelos’ gift will support the School of Medicine’s cell engineering and gene therapy programs and expand collaborations that leverage breakthroughs and new technologies. Research to advance these next-generation therapies could revolutionize the treatment of a wide range of diseases, from blood and immune system disorders to cancer, metabolic disorders, and inflammatory, neurological and cardiovascular diseases.
