Stanley and Fiona Druckenmiller, benefactors of NYU Langone’s new neuroscience institute. (Photo by John Abbott)

$100 Million Gift to Establish New Neuroscience Institute

At NYU Langone, Brain Health Becomes Top of Mind

NYU Langone Medical Center’s renown in neuroscience will reach new heights in the coming years, thanks to a $100 million gift from the Druckenmiller Foundation to establish a state-of-the-art neuroscience institute. The gift will make it possible to recruit and support the highest-caliber neuroscientists. It will also reinforce NYU Langone’s existing strengths, enabling it to become a leader in translational neuroscience, which accelerates the advance of therapies from the laboratory to the clinic. In addition, it will help promote the education and training of future generations of neuroscientists, as well as support a dedicated neuroscience facility.

The institute’s benefactors and champions, Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller, have previously donated $46 million to support various services and initiatives at NYU Langone, including the campus transformation project, the Centers of Excellence, and an endowed professorship in emergency medicine, currently held by Neal Lewin, MD, the Druckenmiller Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine and clinical professor of medicine (pharmacology).

Fiona Druckenmiller, a former portfolio manager at the Dreyfus Corporation, has been a trustee and strong advocate of the Medical Center since 2006. Stanley Druckenmiller, founder of Duquesne Capital Management, is also an active volunteer and is chairman of the board of the Harlem Children’s Zone. The gift grew out of their interest in brain health, as well as their desire to help NYU Langone execute visionary, long-term institutional plans.

Over the next two decades, neuroscientists expect to witness a dramatic transformation in our functional understanding of the brain. Multidisciplinary teams of researchers and clinicians will collaborate to leverage new technologies and spur innovative discoveries. This will lead to personalized molecular medicine for the brain and, in turn, more efficient and effective drug therapies and other solutions for brain health. With its long tradition of expertise in neuroscience, both in the basic sciences and in clinical areas, NYU Langone is well positioned to be in the vanguard of this revolution.

During 2008, New York University received more than $50 million in federal research grants in various areas of neuroscience, more than 70 percent of which came to the Medical Center. Among the more than 50 hospitals in New York City, NYU Langone has the largest market share for adult neurosurgery, pediatric neurosurgery, and spine surgery. Our Department of Psychiatry, one of the largest and most respected in the country, is widely hailed as the birthplace of American psychiatry.

NYU Langone’s new neuroscience institute will consist of an integrated community of basic scientists and physician-researchers dedicated to understanding the mechanisms of brain function and disease and the impact of genetics and environment on brain health. Faculty members will be drawn from throughout the university, including such areas as science, medicine, nursing, dentistry, social work, mathematics, and economics.

“Because we already have world-class expertise in neuroscience, I believe the momentum generated by this gift will take us to a new pinnacle in clinical and research excellence in this field,” says Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone. “With this gift, Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller are voicing their confidence in our aspirations of excellence in this field and are endorsing our talented team of faculty, scientists, and staff.”
 

Passion for Brain Health, Compassion for Those in Need of Neuroscience Research

“We believe that breakthroughs in neuroscience and stem cell research will yield huge benefits in both quality and length of life. Every family is affected in one way or another by brain disorders or brain aging. An aging brain can lead to problems with memory, learning, sleep, and feelings of well-being, not to mention all the ways the brain mediates other aspects of health. By better understanding brain dysrhythmias, neurotransmitter imbalances, and how to maintain optimal neuron health, we can help those afflicted by such diseases as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS, and ALS. We can also learn how to improve treatment and recovery for the debilitating brain damage that often results from accidents, strokes, and brain tumors. The brain is one of the last great frontiers in medicine, and advances in related research could help both the individual and society function at a higher level.”

—Fiona and Stanley Druckenmiller