The University of Southern California has announced a $5 million gift to its medical school from Selim Zilkha and Mary Hayley in support of Alzheimer's disease research.

The gift will endow the Mary Hayley and Selim Zilkha Chair for Alzheimer's Disease Research at the Keck School of Medicine and support efforts to identify the causes, develop treatments, and enhance understanding of the degenerative brain disorder. A successful entrepreneur and member of the school's board of overseers, Zilkha gave USC $20 million in 2002 to establish the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute and gave an additional $5 million in 2011 to help recruit senior scientists and investigators to the institute. ZNI director Berislav Zlokovic, professor and chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has been named the inaugural holder of the chair.

"Professor Zlokovic's translational research in neurodegenerative disorders and the blood-brain relationship is forging a promising path toward the discovery of cures for debilitating health problems that affect millions of people," said Elizabeth Garrett, USC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. "His influential work at USC's Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute will continue to advance through the generous support provided by Selim Zilkha and Mary Hayley in establishing this endowed chair in Alzheimer's research."

"My mother and eldest brother suffered from Alzheimer's, and later my eldest sister from dementia," said Zilkha, a co-owner of Zilkha Biomass Fuels. "These are terrible diseases. If we don't do something about it, by 2050 the number of people in the U.S. with Alzheimer's or dementia may nearly triple from five million to a projected 13.8 million. We must make every effort to arrest and reverse this progression."