The donation will support research on neurodegenerative and genetic diseases, with a particular focus on ALS. It will also fund the recruitment of additional biomedical research faculty.
In recognition of the gift, the medical school will recommend renaming its new education and research building as the Paul J. DiMare Center. The University of Massachusetts Board of Trustees is expected to vote on the proposal in April.
Mr. DiMare was a philanthropist and influential agricultural business leader who ran the DiMare Company, one of the largest fresh-market tomato growers and distributors in the U.S. He died in 2022 at age 81.
“This tremendous gift is a bold endorsement for life-changing biomedical research and will undoubtedly advance UMass Chan’s mission to change the course of history of disease, while simultaneously bolstering Mr. DiMare’s enduring legacy, characterized by his astute, innovative and engaged business acumen; good will; and generous commitment to the greater good,” UMass Chan Medical School Chancellor Michael Collins, MD, said in a Feb. 13 news release.
