Microsoft CEO Gates gives UW record $12 million

by Columns Staff | December 1, 1991

Microsoft Chairman and CEO William Gates III will give the University of Washington $12 million to establish a new Department of Molecular Biotechnology in the School of Medicine, President William P. Gerberding announced Oct. 7. The gift is the largest single commitment from an individual to the UW.

Professor Leroy (Lee) Hood will leave the California Institute of Technology to head the new molecular biotechnology department, believed to be the first department of its kind in the country. Hood will hold the William Gates III Endowed Chair in Biomedical Sciences.

Molecular biotechnology is a new field in which molecular biologists work with scientists from diverse disciplines—such as applied mathematics, applied physics and computer science—to develop new tools to further basic research.

Medicine may be on the verge of stopping many devastating illnesses—such as diabetes, certain types of mental illness, and premature labor—before symptoms appear. Novel therapies might correct biological errors inside cells as well as faulty interactions between cells.

Hood and other molecular biotechnologists are attempting to design the tools and techniques to make these treatments possible. Their “molecular” focus means they observe and manipulate the basic processes by which genes regulate the production of proteins in cells and by which, in tum, proteins and other chemicals control the function of cells.

“The University of Washington is extremely grateful to Bill Gates for this thrilling and generous gift and the related addition of Lee Hood to our faculty,” Gerberding said. “The creative combination of one of the country’s business leaders, one of its leading scientists, and one of its best universities is rich with promise for the advancement of science and human health.”

A native of Montana, Hood, 52, has an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and a Ph.D. from Caltech.

Permanent facilities for the new department will be in the Biomedical Sciences Research Building, currently under construction at the west end of the Health Sciences Center. The department will be housed on a floor to be known as the William Gates III Laboratories in Biomedical Science.

The UW will also establish a fund for “Intellectual Venture Capital” with $2 million of the Gates gift.

“Dr. Leroy Hood is a true visionary in the emerging science of biotechnology,” said Gates. “What appeals to me is the interdisciplinary approach of Dr. Hood’s work, which draws together scientists in the medical research, chemistry, biology, and computer science areas, all working together to solve complex problems.

“His work to date has pioneered major advances in the field and the program being set up at the University of Washington will allow him to dramatically expand the scope of his work. I am thankful to be in a position where I can help him establish this major new research facility in one of the top medical schools in the country.”