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Harvard Med school receives 'transformational' $200M gift

FILE - In this March 7, 2017 file photo, rowers paddle down the Charles River past the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. A lawsuit alleging racial discrimination against Asian American applicants in Harvard's admissions process is heading to trial in Boston's federal court on Monday, Oct. 15, 2018. Harvard denies any discrimination, saying it considers race as one of many factors when considering applicants. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Harvard Medical School has received a $200 million gift officials say will be used to accelerate research into humanity's most acute medical challenges and develop new tools to diagnose, prevent and treat disease.

The gift from Len Blavatnik and the Blavatnik Family Foundation announced Thursday is the largest in the medical school's 236-year history.

Dean George Daley called it a "transformational gift" that "will bring us closer to solving the most intractable health challenges of our time."

Blavatnick, who has an MBA from Harvard, said in a statement partnering with Harvard will help him achieve his goal of supporting breakthrough scientific research that will lead to treatments and cures.

In recognition of the gift, the school is bringing 10 basic science and social science departments under one umbrella called the Blavatnik Institute.

Associated Press

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