Facebook Founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, MD, are donating at least $3 billion over the next 10 years to fight diseases, according to The New York Times.
Here are five things to know:
1. The couple launched Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which has made investments to charter schools, education startups and curing diseases.
2. During an event this week, Dr. Chan, a pediatrician, said the initiative's goal to advance human potential and promote equality falls in line with the movement to cure disease.
3. Dustin Moskovitz, a Facebook co-founder, has also invested money in health initiatives and is a member of the Giving Pledge. The Giving Pledge is a group of the world's wealthiest individuals and families who have promised to give a large portion of their wealth to philanthropy.
4. Cori Bargmann, PhD, a neuroscientist at New York City-based Rockefeller University, will lead The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's science work with the first project being Chan Zuckerberg Biohub. The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub, is a San Francisco-based independent research center where engineers, biologists, chemists, computer scientists and other healthcare professionals will work together to fight diseases.
5. Mr. Zuckerberg noted if the initiative achieves its goal of curing or managing all diseases, this will increase human life expectancy to 100 years.
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