Governor Pritzker Announces New Partnership Between Illinois Universities and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

CHICAGO - Governor Pritzker today congratulated the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University, and the University of Chicago for being selected by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to launch the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago (CZ Biohub Chicago) - a NEW biomedical research hub that will bring together leading scientific and technology institutions to study human tissue with the goal of creating new, groundbreaking therapeutics.

"Illinois continues to grow as a thriving innovation hub with world-class research institutions and top-tier talent," said Governor JB Pritzker. "We're incredibly proud that three Illinois universities will play a critical role in launching the newest endeavor that is a part of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative creating CZ BioHub Chicago, a biomedical research hub that will take medical research to a new level. Illinois is home to the best and brightest minds and I look forward to seeing their new discoveries help people around the world."

"Our state's educational institutions have a profound impact on Illinois and beyond, and this partnership is a testament to the role they play in building a brighter future for our state and our residents," said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. "The work that will be done at the CZ Biohub Chicago speaks to the innovation and care researchers at Illinois' universities bring to the table, and I'm so glad to see their excellence uplifted to support them in finding solutions and pushing us forward."

Selected through a highly-competitive year-long application process, the Illinois team was chosen out of 58 applicants. The application was supported by Governor Pritzker, who committed $25 million in capital funds to provide support to the CZ Biohub Chicago. The Chicago site is the first expansion of the CZ Biohub Network, which launched in 2021 and expands upon the successful model of the first Biohub in San Francisco, launched in 2016. The site will include state-of-the-art laboratories, meeting spaces, a biofoundry and more. Northwestern professor Shana Kelley will serve as president of the new hub.

Through CZ Biohub Chicago, the state's leading institutions will develop new groundbreaking technologies for studying human tissue to improve the understanding of inflammation, which could lead to new treatments for the inflammatory states that underlie many diseases.

"The partnership between the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network and our state's leading scientific and technology institutions fortifies Illinois' position as a global leader in bioscience and technology and lays the groundwork for trailblazing, life-saving medical advances through CZ Biohub Chicago," said Acting DCEO Director Kristin A. Richards.

The CZ Biohub Chicago's collaborative model for scientific research will have profound implications for health and medicine, with the goal of creating new therapeutics, and catalyzing biotechnology in high impact areas such as regenerative medicine.

As home to some of the highest-ranked universities and hospitals in the world along with the renowned Argonne National Laboratory, the CZ Biohub Chicago will add to Illinois' leadership in the bioscience, healthcare and research space. Thanks to the Pritzker Administration's unprecedented investments in research and development, in recent years Illinois has bolstered its reputation as a world-class hub for talent, research institutions, tech hubs, incubators and more.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative was founded in 2015 to help solve some of society's toughest challenges — from eradicating disease and improving education, to addressing the needs of our local communities. Our mission is to build a more inclusive, just, and healthy future for everyone. For more information, please visit chanzuckerberg.com.

The Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Network is a group of nonprofit research institutes that bring together physicians, scientists, and engineers with the goal of pursuing grand scientific challenges on a 10- to 15-year time horizon. These institutes partner with Chan Zuckerberg Science in its goal to understand the mysteries of the cell and how cells interact within systems. This collaboration will bring us closer to our mission to cure, prevent, or manage all disease by the end of the century. To learn more, visit www.czbiohub.org.