Jeff Lurie and his family are donating $50 million to Children’s Hospital and Penn Medicine to create the Lurie Autism Institute, the Eagles announced Tuesday morning.
This is the largest single donation toward autism research ever made to U.S. hospitals, according to an Eagles press release.
The donation, according to the Eagles, will create “an ambitious joint initiative called the Lurie Autism Institute to drive discoveries with transformative impact for those living with autism spectrum disorder.”
The Lurie family has a long history of supporting research toward autism going back to the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation, founded by Jeffrey Lurie’s mother in 1977. That foundation established the Lurie Center for Autism at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in 2009. And Jeffrey Lurie started the Eagles Autism Foundation in 2018.
The Eagles Autism Foundation has raised more than $40 million – including over $10 million this year – with its annual Eagles Autism Challenge series of bicycle rides, runs and walks as part of a day-long event in and around the Linc.
According to the Eagles’ release, the Lurie’s $50 million investment “will strategically leverage CHOP and Penn Medicine’s strengths in autism research and translation to seek answers to the most challenging and important questions around ASD (autism spectrum disorder). …
“This first-of-its kind Institute aims to be a global hub for autism research that connects scientists, clinicians, families, students, and donors.”
According to the Autism Speaks web site, one in 31 children in the U.S. has autism, as well as one in 45 adults, and boys are four times more likely to be diagnosed with autism as girls.
“We established the Lurie Autism Institute to spark a new era of scientific discovery in autism,” Lurie said. “CHOP and Penn Medicine bring unmatched expertise and a proven record of innovation, and together, they have the tools to unlock answers that have eluded the field for far too long.
“By investing in cutting-edge science and the infrastructure to move it forward, we’re aiming not just to understand autism more deeply—but to transform what’s possible for individuals and families worldwide.”
In its press release announcing the initiative, the Eagles outlined some of the goals of the Lurie Autism Institute, including researching the genetics and biological processes that cause autism, studying how autism impacts brain function, researching why some individuals with autism are non-verbal, developing new treatments based on analysis of available data and run clinical trials to test possible treatments or interventions.
“The Lurie Autism Institute will enable us to find quicker and better answers for children and adults living with this complex condition,” said Madeline Bell, CEO of Children’s Hospital. “We are so grateful to the Lurie Family for their ongoing support of autism research … by bringing the top experts in the field together to make breakthroughs in autism research and care.”
For more information on the Eagles Autism Foundation, go to EaglesAutismFoundation.org.