Indiana University School of Medicine has announced a $34.2 million gift from William C. and Mary R. (O’Daniel) Stone to establish a child and adolescent psychiatry center at the IU School of Medicine-Evansville.

The Mary O’Daniel Stone and Bill Stone Center for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry will work to increase access to care for children and youth of the region, and psychiatrists will conduct research at the center, with a focus on bipolar and other mood disorders. In addition, the gift will endow three new chairs and establish a fund to support six additional child and adolescent psychiatrists/fellowships. The center also intends to develop a real-world “evidence data lake,” a comprehensive data platform for psychiatric research and machine learning to identify promising and effective treatments.

Evansville natives, Bill and Mary Stone awarded $15 million in 2018 in support of a multi-institutional health sciences collaboration between the University of Evansville, University of Southern Indiana, and Indiana University.

“As natives, we are committed to Evansville’s growth. Key to quality growth is a healthy populace. Mental health is one of the least understood maladies, is often debilitating to individuals, and very difficult for families and communities,” said Bill Stone. “This center will allow researchers to make Evansville a center of groundbreaking scientific discovery, while simultaneously training physicians to address the communities’ very real needs.”

(Photo credit: Gettyimages / Valeriy G)