Boston Children's Hospital has announced a $25.45 million gift from Rosamund Stone Zander in support of the development of targeted treatments for children affected by neurodevelopmental disorders.

Awarded through the J.P. Fletcher Foundation, the gift will establish the Rosamund Stone Zander Translational Neuroscience Center, which will work to fuel scientific discovery and clinical trials in translational neuroscience. To that end, the center will recruit world-class faculty and train the next generation of leaders while expanding the work of the Translational Neuroscience Center, which has created an infrastructure that includes specialized clinical/translational research programs for individuals impacted by rare neurogenetic disorders, outstanding basic science, and the translation of novel ideas into practical tools for diagnosis and treatment.

"Through recent advancements in genetics and neuroscience, we've arrived at an inflection point. This new center deepens and accelerates our efforts to advance safe and effective therapies for children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism," said Mustafa Sahin, the Rosamund Stone Zander Chair at Boston Children's and Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, who founded the Translational Neuroscience Center and will lead the new center. "We are uniquely qualified to capitalize on this opportunity through collaboration with academic, biomedical, and pharmaceutical partners involved in different stages of the drug discovery pipeline. This generous donation will be instrumental in helping us drive our mission forward as we work to translate research discoveries into new treatments for pediatric nervous system disorders."

"As a former teacher and therapist who worked with children suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders for many years, Dr. Sahin's undertakings and aspirations resonate with me in a profound way," said Zander. "His research opens entirely new avenues for collaboration and treatments, and in many cases for life itself."

(Photo credit: Boston Children's Hospital)