Virginia Commonwealth University has received a record $104 million gift that is to be used to expand research and treatment options for liver and liver-related diseases, it was announced Tuesday.

The gift is from Dr. R. Todd Stravitz and his family’s Barbara Brunckhorst Foundation. Dr. Stravitz is a physician who spent his career researching and treating diseases of the liver. Before retiring from VCU in 2020, he served as medical director of liver transplantation at VCU Health’s Hume-Lee Transplant Center for a decade.

The gift is described as the largest private donation ever for liver research. According to VCU President Michael Rao, it “will position VCU as a global leader” in teaching, research and patient care in this health specialty area.

“It allows us to bring together top teams to deliver clinical care, to ask important questions, develop new tools to explore what causes liver disease and how we stop it, prevent it and even reverse it,” Dr. Rao stated. “Most importantly, it will immediately make a difference in the lives of thousands of people with liver disease. Ultimately, this will positively impact millions.”