Stanford University School of Medicine will build the nation's largest stem cell research center, thanks to a 75-million-U.S.-dollar donation from Business Wire founder Lorry I. Lokey, the medical school announced on Monday.
Lokey's gift to Stanford's school of medicine will help build a200,000-square-foot facility that will be known as the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building.
The modern, four-story building will house 350 scientists and clinicians in 33 laboratories and from multiple disciplines working together to capture the power of these cells in treating diseases as diverse as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.
The school plans to complete the building by the summer of 2010.
"Stem cells are going to be as significant as the silicon chip that created Silicon Valley," said Lokey, who made an initial commitment to the building in February 2007.
"Stem cells are going to introduce an entirely new field of medicine for extending lives and improving the quality of life," Lokey said in a statement released by the medical school.
Lokey's gift is one of the largest gifts even given to the university, and it's the largest ever from a person to a medical school.
Lokey said he was driven to fund stem cell research after President George W. Bush, in August 2001, banned the use of federal funds for stem cell research that involved the destruction of human embryos.
Lokey said he was "terribly disappointed" by the current administration's position.
"It's very narrow-minded," he said. "This is about lives being saved."
Stem cells have the potential to morph into virtually any of the specialized cells and tissues of human body. Researchers believe they could deliver stem cell therapies for diseases and medical problems such as cancer, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, spinal cord injuries and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, often called Lou Gehrig's disease.
The center is also getting 43.6 million U.S. dollars from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state's stem cell research funding agency.
The 81-year-old Lokey graduated from Stanford in 1949 with a degree in journalism. He started the Business Wire press-release service in 1961 in San Francisco. In 2006, he sold the company for approximately 500 million U.S. dollars to Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's corporation.
Source: Xinhua
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