Worchester-based University of Massachusetts Medical School will establish an Institute for Rare Disease Research with a $10 million endowment from Chinese businessman Li Weibo's foundation, according to the Worchester Telegram.
The institute will become a home for faculty members to perform advanced research on rare diseases.
Mr. Li also pledged to give a $750,000 annual scholarship that will fund up to five graduate students from China studying biomedical sciences.
Mr. Li's gift will have an "unparalleled ability to make impacts on an entire range of terribly disabling diseases," Terence Flotte, MD, provost and dean of University of Massachusetts Medical School, told the Worchester Telegram.
In 2013, Mr. Li established the Li Weibo Charitable Foundation, pledging to donate half of his personal wealth to improve outcomes for people around the world.