The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has announced a $24 million gift from philanthropist K. Lisa Yang in support of an interdisciplinary research center aimed at mitigating disabilities through technologies that marry human physiology with electromechanics.

The gift to MIT's McGovern Institute for Brain Research will establish the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics and unite experts from the MIT schools of Science, Engineering, and Architecture and Planning to create, test, and disseminate bionic technologies and help mitigate a broad range of disabilities. In addition, the gift will establish four endowed fellowships for MIT graduate students working in bionics or other research areas focused on improving the lives of individuals who experience disability.

In its first four years, the center will focus on developing and testing three bionic technologies: a digital nervous system with the goal of eliminating movement disorders caused by spinal cord injuries by using computer-controlled muscle activations to regulate limb movements while simultaneously stimulating spinal cord repair; brain-controlled limb exoskeletons to assist weak muscles and enable natural movement for people affected by stroke or musculoskeletal disorders; and bionic limb reconstruction to restore natural, brain-controlled movements as well as the sensation of touch and proprioception (awareness of position and movement) from bionic limbs. A fourth priority will be developing a mobile delivery system to provide patients in medically underserved communities access to prosthetic limb services.

A longtime supporter of MIT, Yang previously provided support to establish the K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Center for Molecular Therapeutics in Neuroscience, Hock E. Tan and K. Lisa Yang Center for Autism Research, Y. Eva Tan Professorship in Neurotechnology, and the endowed K. Lisa Yang Post-Baccalaureate Program.

"The K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics will provide a dynamic hub for scientists, engineers, and designers across MIT to work together on revolutionary answers to the challenges of disability," said MIT president L. Rafael Reif. "With this visionary gift, Lisa Yang is unleashing a powerful collaborative strategy that will have broad impact across a large spectrum of human conditions — and she is sending a bright signal to the world that the lives of individuals who experience disability matter deeply."