Vitalik Buterin's philanthropic fund donates 15M USDC to UC San Diego

cointelegraph.com:

According to a Mar. 7 announcement from the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the post-secondary institution has received a 15 million USD Coin (USDC) donation from the Balvi Filantropic Fund. The foundation is currently directed by Ethereum (ETH) co-founder Vitalik Buterin and "is a scientific investment and direct gifting fund for deploying quickly to high-value COVID projects that traditional institutional or commercial funding sources tend to overlook." As told by UCSD, the donation is the largest gift of its kind to a U.S. university and will be used to establish the Meta-Institute for Airborne Disease in a Changing Climate, "The Airborne Institute."

UCSD stated that the newly established institution would focus on the study of airborne diseases like influenza, tuberculosis, and COVID-19. Its ultimate aim is to develop new treatments, vaccines, and diagnostics for these diseases while improving understanding of how they are spread. Buterin said with regard to the development:

Meanwhile, atmospheric chemist and professor at UCSD, commented:

The institute will be housed in the UC San Diego School of Biological Sciences. Further research conducted by The Airborne Institute will be published in open-access journals, along with other data. Intellectual property developed by The Airborne Institute will also be published in the public domain.