The donation is unrestricted and will support efforts including increased financial aid for students, loan forgiveness for graduates who work in underserved areas, new classrooms, and seed money for pathbreaking research too novel to win support from other funders.

In particular, said the school's dean, Julio Frenk, the Morningside gift will support research and training in four areas: pandemics ranging from malaria and Ebola to obesity and cancer; environmental health risks, including pollution, guns, and tobacco; poverty and humanitarian crises, including war and natural disasters; and failing health systems.

The Morningside Foundation was established in 1996 by Drs. Ronnie and Gerald Chan to support higher education in North America and Asia. Their father, T.H. Chan, founded the Hang Lung Group Ltd., one of Hong Kong's largest real estate companies.