The Weill Family Foundation and Joan and Sanford I. “Sandy” Weill have donated $185 million to establish the University of California San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences, in an effort to accelerate the development of new therapies for diseases affecting the brain and nervous system, including psychiatric disorders.

The gift will provide the lead investment for the construction of a new 270,000-square-foot building at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus that will serve as the Weill Institute for Neurosciences headquarters. The new building will house state-of-the-art research laboratories, as well as clinics for patients with brain and nervous system disorders.

In addition, a new UCSF Weill Innovation Fund will provide support for high-risk, high-reward research projects aimed at finding new treatments for neurological and psychiatric illnesses by offering UCSF neuroscientists the freedom and flexibility to advance their most innovative research goals.

Sandy Weill said, “Given budget constraints at the local, state and federal levels, it is no secret that governments will not have the ability to fund all that is needed in biomedical research and beyond.” He added, “Individuals, foundations and companies must step up to the plate to help fill this void to create public/private partnerships to enhance education, medical research, and culture. This, we believe, will be the new paradigm in philanthropy for the future.”

Falling under the new Weill Institute umbrella will be three UCSF departments—Neurology, Psychiatry, and Neurological Surgery.