University gets £25.8m donation for autism research

The University of Cambridge has received $34.5m (£25.8m) for research to help improve the health and wellbeing of people with autism and their families.

The university said the donation was made by philanthropist K. Lisa Yang.

It said $28m (£20.9m) would be used to create The K. Lisa Yang Centre for Autism Research at the university, with the remaining used to establish The K. Lisa Yang Autism Clinical Centre in the new Cambridge Children's Hospital, which is due to open in 2030.

Yang, founder of the Yang Tan Collective, said she hoped the donation would help to "uncover therapeutics and interventions, improve quality of lives for autistic people, their families and the community".

The university said it would join eight other research centres based at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Massachusetts, US, to form the Yang Tan Collective - created to focus research and translation approaches into human health, disease, and environmental challenges, especially engineering solutions to low-cost settings.

"The collective is an alliance of world-class universities dedicated to cutting-edge science, and two of the existing eight centres focus on accelerating autism research and improving outcomes for autistic people across their lifespan," Yang added.

The university said the donation was the largest single philanthropic gift to its Clinical Medicine since its formation in 1976.

It said research would look into the challenges faced by autistic people and their families and ways to identify and diagnose autism at an earlier stage.

Talking about Yang's donation, vice-chancellor of the university Prof Deborah Prentice said: "With her support, our researchers will be able to exchange their expertise and knowledge with their peers in the 'other' Cambridge, making a real difference to the autism community."

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.