Tulane Alum Donates Lead Gift to Launch Brain Institute

Tulane University will soon launch the Tulane Brain Institute, a university-wide initiative that will provide the infrastructure to coordinate, expand and push neuroscience programs and research at the school.

TulaneTulane alumnus Bill Marko and his wife Marta were the lead donors to the Institute.

“We love what Tulane as a university is doing and we’ve been really impressed with everyone involved,” said Marta Marko. “There is no ‘I’ or ‘me,’ it’s a collective process.” She thinks the Brain Institute will have an immediate impact on an area near and dear to their hearts.

Currently, the fundraising goal of the institute is $50 million. Psychology professor and head of the Neuroscience Program at Tulane, Jill Daniel, will serve as director.

“The Brain Institute has the potential to make Tulane a true national leader in brain science in terms of education, training and research,” said Tulane President Mike Fitts. “The beauty of Marta and Bill Marko’s generosity is that it helps us expand in an area in which we already have demonstrated strength and in which more than 40 faculty members are currently engaged.”