NYU Langone Medical Center Receives $100 Million Gift to Establish Neuroscience Institute

July 8, 2009 (From NYU) — NYU Langone Medical Center announced today a $100 million gift from the Druckenmiller Foundation to establish a state-of-the-art neuroscience institute at the Medical Center.

This gift will provide for the recruitment and support of the highest caliber neuroscientists, reinforcing NYU Langone Medical Center's existing strengths and enabling it to become a leader in translational neuroscience, bringing expertise from the research bench to the clinical bedside. It will also help promote the education and training of future generations of neuroscientists—a hallmark of the institution—as well as support a dedicated neuroscience facility.

"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," said Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center. "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."

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 Harlem Children's Zone. Together, they have already given over $46 million to support various services and initiatives that are vital to NYU Langone Medical Center, including the campus transformation project. Understanding the realities of executing visionary plans, the Druckenmillers have been actively fundraising and advising on institutional long-term planning.

"Knowledgeable and passionate about science and medicine, the Druckenmillers conceptualized this gift out of interest in the healthy brain and understanding how the brain functions," said Ken Langone, chairman of the board of trustees at the NYU Langone Medical Center. "We are especially grateful that they have chosen to support neuroscience, one of the Medical Center's strategic areas."

Mrs. Druckenmiller noted, "Under the leadership of Ken Langone and Bob Grossman, NYU Langone Medical Center has been revitalized and they have laid a new foundation for significant advances in research and clinical care. It gives us immense pride to support the Medical Center by helping to establish an institute dedicated to advancing new treatments in neuroscience."

This gift is the latest milestone in a multi-year transformation of the Medical Center being led by Dr. Grossman and his leadership team. NYU Langone Medical Center announced four historic 9-figure gifts in a 15-month period and believes it is the only nonprofit organization in the United States to have done so. In 2008, the Medical Center raised $506 million—believed to be the largest amount raised by any academic medical center in a 12-month-period—and has raised nearly $700 million in less than two years.

"NYU is deeply grateful to the Druckenmillers for their enormous generosity," said John Sexton, president of NYU. "Their gift validates the faith we have in the direction set by leadership of NYU Langone Medical Center and in the outstanding quality of its research, care and education. Gifts such as this—generous in scope, strategic in outlook, discerning in application—are vital to achieving the ambitions we all share for setting a new level of excellence at the Medical Center."

"In a time of such economic uncertainty we are inspired by the many donors who are committed to supporting the transformation of our Medical Center into the world-class institution it aspires to be," said Robert Berne, senior vice president for health at NYU. "Our supporters have been incredibly generous, understanding that in difficult times the need for philanthropic endeavors increases as the needs of the community become more complex."