The Scripps Research Institute announced Wednesday that it has received a $5.65 million gift from a San Diego mental health advocate and founder of TSRI's Dorris Neuroscience Center.
The gift from Helen Dorris will boost the center's endowment. The new amount of the endowment was not disclosed.
James Paulson, acting president and CEO, said Dorris' "gifts help make possible discoveries that deepen our understanding of the nervous system and underscores her belief that neurosciences is at the threshold of advancing new treatments for devastating neurological conditions."
Dorris, a San Diego State University professor emeritus, founded the TSRI neuroscience center in 1999 with a commitment of $10 million. The center was originally named the Harold L. Dorris Neurological Research Center in her brother's honor.
She later founded the Helen L. Dorris Institute for the Study of Neurological and Psychiatric Disorders of Children and Adolescents. The two centers were consolidated five years ago with an additional gift.
The Neuroscience Center brings together scientists early in their careers with established researchers in the field and provides them with high- end imaging technology and state-of-the-art genomic and genetic research tools to advance their research.
The researchers conduct investigations into sensory systems like smell, hearing and pain; neuronal circuitry, such as the systems that govern memory; and stem cell research.
