Gift Announcements > Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute

Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute

The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute is advancing artificial intelligence for patient care through a generous gift.

By Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is pleased to announce a gift of $5 million from the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute to support career development awards in translational research with a focus on artificial intelligence.

This generous support will accelerate highly novel projects that leverage artificial intelligence and translate it into applications for patient care. The gift will launch competitive career development awards for staff who are early in their careers, as well as established investigators.

"We designed the Chen Scholars Program to bridge the worlds of fundamental research and clinical study," says Chrissy Luo, Chen Institute co-founder. "We aim to create a community where scientists come together to share knowledge, collaborate and make meaningful discoveries. We're committed to supporting our Chen Scholars in their efforts to push boundaries and drive real-world change."

Started in 2016, the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute’s vision is to “improve the human experience by understanding how our brains perceive, learn and interact with the world.” Mr. Tianqiao Chen is the co-founder and CEO of the Shanda Group, a global private investment firm. The Shanda Group was founded as Shanda Interactive Entertainment in 1999, which was a pioneer in online gaming in China. Mrs. Chrissy Chen is a co-founder and vice chair of the Shanda Group. The Chens have previously supported Mayo Clinic with an unrestricted gift to support Mayo leadership’s response to COVID-19. 

"It’s an honor to be part of the Chen Scholars program and receive this extraordinary support to further the careers of such bright individuals."
— Vijay Shah, M.D.

The Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute is also supporting career development awards at Massachusetts General Hospital and University California, San Francisco along with Mayo Clinic to create a Chen Scholars network. The award recipients hold the distinction of being Chen Scholars for the duration of their award.

“It’s an honor to be part of the Chen Scholars program and receive this extraordinary support to further the careers of such bright individuals,” says Vijay Shah, M.D., Kinney Executive Dean of Research. “All the Mayo Clinic Chen Scholar awardees are acutely aware of areas that don’t yet have solutions for patients. It’s fantastic that through this remarkable gift, they will be able to leverage artificial intelligence tools to address these questions with teams of experts at Mayo Clinic for the benefit of patients everywhere.”