The University of Bath has received a gift of £2m from a former student to encourage innovation in its recently launched Department of Life Sciences.
Prof Raymond F. Schinazi, pictured, who studied at the university in the late 1960s, went on to develop effective drugs that turned the tide against HIV, hepatitis B and C.
His £2m endowment – one of the largest ever received by the university – has established the first Raymond Schinazi and Family Chair of Life Sciences.
At the same time he has also donated seed funding to establish a new Life Sciences Innovation Fund, called Synergy Awards, which will be available to Bath academics and students.
Scientist, pharmaceutical entrepreneur and philanthropist Prof Schinazi moved to England as a refugee from Egypt in 1964 after winning a scholarship to sit his O and A-Levels. He arrived in Bath in 1968 and completed an undergraduate degree and then a PhD in Chemistry.
He went on to have an outstanding academic career in the pharmaceutical sector, working as a pharmacologist and virologist and establishing multiple successful biotech companies in the US.
Most notably, his work led to the development of several antiviral drugs effective against HIV. Today around 94% of HIV patients take one of the drugs he developed.
He was also instrumental in discovering and developing drugs for Hepatitis B and a cure for Hepatitis C.
These breakthroughs, along with Prof Schinazi’s work to bring these drugs to the market, have saved countless individuals while improving the quality of life of millions of patients worldwide.
He continues to work as a leading scientist and entrepreneur based at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Prof Schinazi said: “I came to the UK as an immigrant to benefit from a British education, and I’m very grateful to Britain for providing me with an outstanding education.
“It’s so important to support underprivileged, bright students – especially those who are immigrants, and give them an opportunity to study at Bath. Now it is my turn to give back and to make this world a better place.”
The university’s Department of Life Sciences was established in the 2022/23 academic year by merging the departments of Biology & Biochemistry and Pharmacy & Pharmacology.
This created a cross-disciplinary, integrated and collaborative department, bringing together expertise and greater opportunities to build partnerships with the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industrial sectors, as well as the NHS.
Prof Philip Ingham FRS, the first holder of the Raymond Schinazi and Family Chair of Life Sciences, said: “Raymond is a hugely inspiring figure whose pioneering work illustrates what the life sciences can achieve – his research has been instrumental in turning HIV from a virus humanity was effectively defenceless against into something that can be managed with drugs, allowing patients to lead normal, healthy lives.
“We’re very grateful indeed for this gift, which will support our efforts to emulate his exciting and impactful work here at the University of Bath.”
Prof Schinazi, who is also an honorary graduate of the university, will visit Bath on 11 October to deliver an inaugural lecture The scientific advances making hepatitis elimination possible: Translating Science to Cure.
Held at the university, it will be free and open to all to attend.
University of Bath vice-chancellor and president Prof Ian White, pictured, said: “The university is very grateful and humbled by this generous donation, one of the largest we’ve ever received.
“It’s very fitting that a pioneer in the life sciences like Raymond has decided to endow this chair for our new Department of Life Sciences, which has ambitious aims to deliver impactful outcomes for patients and society through its life sciences research.
“We’re very proud of what Raymond has achieved since studying at Bath, and I am looking forward to welcoming him back here in October to deliver what I am sure will be a fascinating inaugural lecture.”
The University of Bath, which has just over 20,000 students, was named ‘University of the Year’ in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023. It was also ranked 5th in the UK in the Complete University Guide 2024 and 7th in the Guardian University Guide 2023.
