Tim Stephens | UCSC | October 08, 2019
UC Santa Cruz has received an anonymous gift of $8.5 million to support the Genomics Institute’s pioneering interdisciplinary research. The gift, which will be made in annual installments over the next ten years, establishes the Healthier World Fund for the UC Santa Cruz Genomics Institute.
“We are delighted to announce this major gift and grateful to the donors for their generosity. UC Santa Cruz has long been a leader in genomics research, and the Genomics Institute is now poised to rapidly innovate in extraordinary new ways to address some of the most important issues of our time,” said UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive.
The pledge from the anonymous donor was made in partnership with campus leaders who have committed one-time funding of $1.7 million for facility upgrades and moving costs associated with the relocation of the Genomics Institute to 2300 Delaware Ave., and $650,000 annually for the next ten years to support the Genomics Institute’s operating budget.
“It’s a substantial step forward for us to have this kind of long-term funding,” said David Haussler, professor of biomolecular engineering in the Baskin School of Engineering and director of the Genomics Institute. “This wonderful gift coincides with major new grants from the National Institutes of Health and our official establishment as an organized research unit of the campus. It feels like the culmination of 20 years of genomics work here at UC Santa Cruz.”