JK Rowling donates £15.3m to the University of Edinburgh for MS research

Funds are designed to help secure the aid of top researchers looking into a cure for the disease

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 12 September 2019 08:13 BST
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JK Rowling attends the 70th EE Bafta awards at Royal Albert Hall on 12 February 2017 in London
JK Rowling attends the 70th EE Bafta awards at Royal Albert Hall on 12 February 2017 in London

JK Rowling has donated £15.3m to the University of Edinburgh to help improve the lives of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and similar neurodegenerative diseases.

The university has announced that the investment from the Harry Potter author will help create new facilities and fund new research into MS and similar conditions.

Funds will be spent on building new centres at the the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic, which was set up after a previous donation from Rowling in 2010.

The building is named after her mother who died of MS at the age of 45.

Rowling said: “When the Anne Rowling Clinic was first founded, none of us could have predicted the incredible progress that would be made in the field of Regenerative Neurology, with the Clinic leading the charge.

“I am delighted to now support the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic into a new phase of discovery and achievement, as it realises its ambition to create a legacy of better outcomes for generations of people with MS and non-MS neurodegenerative diseases."

Rowling's donation is designed to help secure the aid of top researchers looking into a cure for MS.

The University of Edinburgh set up a centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research in 2007.

Last week, Rowling fuelled speculation of a surprise Harry Potter sequel after tweeting a Cursed Child quote, reading: "Sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

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