Columbia Receives $400 Million Gift for Biomedical Research

Columbia University received a $400 million gift from Roy and Diana Vagelos, which is the single largest ever made to Columbia’s medical school. A principal function of this gift will be to significantly expand the mission of the Vagelos-funded institute created in 2023, according to a Columbia spokesperson.

“The Roy and Diana Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Science will now provide the infrastructure to unite cutting-edge research taking place in Columbia’s basic science departments, its leading medical and graduate education programs, and the exemplary research initiatives in its clinical departments in a new dynamic organizational model,” noted a statement from Columbia. “By assembling this mix of mutually reinforcing activities, we seek to build the world’s foremost ecosystem for biomedical research and to attract the next generation of exceptionally creative and collaborative scientists able to realize this vision.”

The gift will support construction of a new biomedical research building, to be known as the Vagelos Innovation Laboratories, at 167th Street and Audubon Avenue, on the Washington Heights medical campus. The facility, which will provide more than 55,000 ft² of new laboratory space, will be based on the concept of sustainability: the first fully-electrified, university-owned laboratory building in New York City.

The Vagelos gift will support the medical school’s programs in cell engineering and gene therapy and will expand collaborations that harness breakthroughs and new technologies. Research to advance these next-generation therapies could revolutionize treatment for a wide variety of diseases ranging from disorders of the blood and immune system to cancers, metabolic disorders, and inflammatory, neurological, and cardiovascular conditions.