Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife, Priscilla Chan, have created a $3 billion initiative to accelerate scientific research to cure infectious diseases by the end of the century, according to the Washington Post.
The initiative involves creating universal technology tools researchers and engineers can continue to build upon, including a map of all cell types, a way to monitor blood to detect for early signs of illness and a chip that will potentially be able to diagnose a large number of diseases. The funds will also be used to create a series of virtual institutes allowing researchers from across the globe to congregate and share their findings, according to the article. The proposal also involves the creation of a "Biohub" at University of California San Francisco's Mission Bay campus to bring together scientists from Stanford, the University of California Berkeley and UCSF.
Cori Bargmann, a neuroscientist at RockefellerUniversity and co-chair of President Obama’s Brain Researching through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies initiative, will reportedly lead the project.
It is unclear, however, if the initiative would collaborate with the couple's own foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, an organization dedicated to advancing human potential and promoting equality for all children in the next generation, according to the company's website.
Ms. Chan, a pediatric physician at San Francisco General Hospital, and her husband have donated to various medical institutions over the years, including $5 million to University of Central Florida Children's Hospital, $75 million to San Francisco General Hospital and $25 million to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation to fight the spread of Ebola.