UMass Chan Medical School received a $15 million gift from alumni Dan and Diane Casey Riccio to further neuroscience research, the Telegram and Gazette reported Feb. 7.
The gift includes $10 million to a project to be named the Riccio ALS Accelerator Initiative and $5 million to expand and endow the Riccio Fund for Neuroscience. It is the third and largest donation to the school made by the Riccios.
“This extraordinary gift from the Riccios is transformational,” stated Robert Brown Jr., MD, professor of neurology and director of the program in neurotherapeutics at UMass Medical School. “It will greatly enhance the development of ALS therapies here at UMass Chan Medical School. With members of the RNA Therapeutics Institute, our team in neurology is developing new biologic treatments for ALS, targeting aspects of ALS gene expression.