Medical research organisation The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have taken a leap for public health by launching a new centre for applied science in the United States. Philanthropists donated millions of dollars to support this project and drive progress in life-saving research.
The former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt and his wife, Wendy, provided the new research hub with a donation of $150 million. This was matched by an additional $150 million from philanthropic organisation The Broad Foundation, an organisation funding higher education, science and the arts.
Situated in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the centre will provide a base for scientific breakthroughs in biology and machine learning. It will give space for advances in data and life sciences.
“The pandemic has shown us that prioritizing science, innovation, and applied research is one of the greatest investments we can make in our future,” said Eric Schmidt.
“Much like Eli and Edye Broad saw the potential in creating the Broad Institute, Wendy and I believe this centre has the promise to create a new field of science. It could benefit human health in ways we can’t even begin to imagine,” he added.
The philanthropist couple has offered financial support to positive initiatives since 2006. They created The Schmidt Family Foundation to tackle the climate crisis. This charitable foundation offers grants and invests in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, human rights, and marine technology.
Later they launched the Schmidt Ocean Institute dedicated to oceanographic research. Most recently, they created Schmidt Futures, an initiative to fund heroic individuals working towards environmental and social justice.
To match the Schmidts’ donation, The Broad Foundation announced an additional $150 million gift to the Broad Institute. To date, the Broad Foundation has pledged more than $1 billion to establish and endow the Broad Institute.
It is only recently that data science and biology have been treated as mutually beneficial fields. The former includes a variety of technological innovations that can be applied to medical science.
“Biology is now producing data at previously unimaginable scales—but our ability to understand and interpret that data hasn’t kept pace,” explained director of the Broad Institute Todd Golub. “Adapting the methods of machine learning for biology will give scientists the chance to understand the programs of life. The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Center will enable new partnerships between academia and industry that can greatly accelerate our progress.”
“Eli and Edye Broad made a big bet 15 years ago, joining MIT and Harvard to advance the promise of genomic medicine,” said Gerun Riley, president of The Broad Foundation and member of the Broad Institute board. “We are thrilled to partner with the Schmidts to realize this exciting evolution of the Broad Institute by building on its foundational ethos to create a new scientific discipline that will further propel life-changing research and discovery.”
Founded in 2003, the Broad Institute aims to empower upcoming creative scientists to drive progress in medicine. It was created by MIT, Harvard and its affiliated hospitals, and the Los Angeles philanthropists Eli and Edythe L. Broad to collaborate and innovate for better healthcare for all.
Find more information about the Broad Institute on broadinstitute.org.
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