Wednesday, 01/15/2025
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Zuckerbergs pledge $3 bil to banish diseases
Update: 29/09/2016
SAN FRANCISCO — Mark Zuckerberg and\r\nhis wife on recently pledged $3 billion over the next decade to help banish or\r\nmanage all diseases, pouring some of the Facebook founder’s fortune into\r\ninnovative research.
\r\n\r\n“This is a big goal,â€\r\nZuckerberg said at a San Francisco event announcing the effort of the Chan\r\nZuckerberg Initiative established by the couple.
\r\n\r\n“But we spent the last\r\nfew years speaking with experts who think it is possible, so we dug in.â€
\r\n\r\nZuckerberg and his\r\nwife, Priscilla Chan, had their daughter Max late last year. Shortly after,\r\nthey pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook holdings or some $45 billion to\r\n“advance human potential and promote equality.â€
\r\n\r\nAt the event,\r\nZuckerberg said their goal is to cure all diseases, or at least turn\r\ncatastrophic illnesses from terminal to manageable or preventable within their\r\ndaughter’s lifetime.
\r\n\r\nWhile the funding\r\neffort is for the next decade, Zuckerberg and his wife said they hope to\r\nachieve their objective of by the end of this century.
\r\n\r\nChan, fighting back\r\ntears at times, said that curing all disease within Max’s lifetime will not\r\nmean children won’t ever get sick, but it would happen less often and be less\r\nsevere.
\r\n\r\nThe first investment\r\nbeing made as part of what the Zuckerbergs hoped would become a “collectiveâ€\r\neffort will be $600 million for the creation of a Biohub in San Francisco where\r\nresearchers, scientists and others will work to build tools to better study and\r\nunderstand diseases.
\r\n\r\n“Throughout the\r\nhistory of science, most breakthroughs have been preceded by the invention of\r\nsome new technology that lets you see things in new ways,†Zuckerberg said,\r\nmentioning the microscope and DNA sequencing as examples.
\r\n\r\n“Tools also create\r\nbreakthroughs in how we treat diseases.â€
\r\n\r\nThe Biohub will bring\r\ntogether engineers and scientists from three prestigious California\r\nuniversities to help the effort.
\r\n\r\n“We plan to invest\r\nbillions of dollars over decades,†Zuckerberg said.
\r\n\r\n“But, it will take\r\nyears for these tools to be built and longer to put them into full use. This is\r\nhard and we need to be patient, but it’s important.â€
\r\n\r\nRenowned\r\nneuroscientist Cori Bargmann of Rockefeller University and the Howard Hughes\r\nMedical Institute were brought on to lead the project.
\r\n\r\nZuckerberg took an\r\nengineering approach to the challenge, reasoning that there were a handful of\r\nbig health culprits including cancer and neurological disease so it was “pretty\r\neasy†to imagine what types of tools are needed.
\r\n\r\nZuckerberg and Chan\r\nalso hoped that their project would power a movement to fund more medical\r\nresearch around the world.
\r\n\r\nTaking part in the\r\nevent was Microsoft billionaire turned global philanthropist Bill Gates, who\r\nhas made improving health around the world a top goal at the foundation he created\r\nwith his wife.
\r\n\r\nGates praised\r\nZuckerberg and Chan for taking on a “very bold, very ambitious†challenge.
\r\n\r\n“I have no doubt they\r\nwill make progress,†Gates said.
\r\n\r\n“Mark and Priscilla,\r\nthey are inspiring a whole new generation of philanthropists who will do\r\namazing things.â€
\r\n\r\nPriscilla Chan, a\r\npediatrician, stood by her husband as she assured the gathering, which included\r\nprominent medical researchers and local politicians, that her “heart is full of\r\nhope†and that all involved were eager to get started.
\r\n\r\nAFP