After amassing massive amounts of wealth through his social network innovation, the 32-year-old billionaire shared his overly ambitious—and seemingly impossible—plan to one day treat and cure all diseases known to man.
Zuckerberg’s initiative seems to have taken a step further on Thursday, as reports surfaced that he has shelled out a substantial amount to dozens of scientists over the next five years, to turn his vision into reality.
Along with the aid of his wife Priscilla Chan, the couple’s Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) launched a $3 billion cheque book, in an aim “cure all disease by the end of the twenty-first century.”
According to Business Insider, the generous stipend will be used in long-term scientific research that wouldn’t necessarily pay off straight away.
Apart from the initial donation, the CZI subgroup Chan Zuckerberg Biohub also announced an additional $50 million in funding to selected researchers.
Out of the 700 researchers who applied for the funding, 47 scientists will receive approximately $1.5 million each to carry out the necessary experiments for the next five years.
Among the primary objectives include the imaging cells, developing biochip technologies and studying the transmission of malaria, through the help of three universities—Berkley, University of Central Florida and Stanford.
“Our three university partners provide the very backbone of Biohub’s work,” the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub said in a release.
“Our investigators come from these outstanding research institutions, and their faculty will be an integral part of our day-to-day operations here at Biohub.”
The medical research organization also assured everyone that the fund will not go to waste and be given to the most qualified researchers.
“We are conducting research that helps solve big health problems. We find and support the best and brightest biologists, scientists, engineers and technologists,” the group said.
“Our culture emphasizes intellectual freedom and collaboration. We provide our team with the best scientific tools—and when the right tools don’t exist, we will invent them.”
Biohub co-president Joseph DeRisi, meanwhile, praised the Zuckerberg couple’s hands-on approach towards finding a cure to mankind’s most dreaded illnesses.
“Both Mark and Priscilla are avid consumers of science,” he was quoted as saying in the report. “They enjoy learning new things and knowing what the cutting edge of research is all about.”
source: technology.inquirer.net
