Harry Potter author JK Rowling has donated 10 million pounds to set up a new clinic to carry out research into multiple sclerosis (MS), the disease which killed her mother.
The clinic, to be based at the University of Edinburgh, will be named after Rowling's mother Anne, who suffered from MS and died at the age of 45. The writer believes the clinic will become a world centre for excellence in its field.
It is also hoped work at the facility will help researchers find out more about other incurable neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease.
The author said the new clinic, which is expected to be completed within a year, would place patients at the heart of the research and treatment process.
''It is with great pleasure and pride that I am donating £10 million to the Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh, which is to be named after my mother, Anne,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}''It is with great pleasure and pride that I am donating £10 million to the Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh, which is to be named after my mother, Anne,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying in a statement.
{{/usCountry}}''I have supported research into the cause and treatment of multiple sclerosis for many years now, but when I first saw the proposal for this clinic, I knew that I had found a project more exciting, more innovative, and, I believe, more likely to succeed in unravelling the mysteries of MS than any other I had read about or been asked to fund.
''I am incredibly impressed by the calibre of clinicians and researchers that Edinburgh has already managed to attract to make this project a reality, and I truly believe that it is set to become a world centre for excellence in the field of regenerative neurology,'''' she added.