Chinese billionaire Tianqiao Chen and his wife Chrissy Luo will donate $115 million to the California Institute of Technology to help fund the launch of a campuswide neuroscience initiative focused on interdisciplinary brain research.
The gift will support the creation of the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech, where researchers will study the brain and work toward developing new medical treatments and scientific tools. The institute will have shared lab spaces and centralized areas to foster collaboration among faculty from across the university's six academic divisions: neuroscience, biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, computer science and social science.
A pioneer in China's online gaming industry, Mr. Chen isn't new to the U.S. healthcare scene. He is Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems' largest shareholder after accumulating a nearly 13.8 percent stake in the company this year.
Regarding his donation to Caltech, Mr. Chen said, "We believe uncovering how the brain perceives, interprets, and interacts with the world is pivotal in so many aspects. It can shape groundbreaking industries such as artificial intelligence, robotics and virtual reality. It also plays a critical role in addressing social issues such as aging and behavioral deficiencies. It can even help answer many ultimate questions about life, such as its origin, purpose, and ending. This is the mission of our philanthropy, and we are dedicating an initial $1 billion dollars to this cause."
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