‘Harry Potter’ creator J.K. Rowling has donated $19 million to fund research into multiple sclerosis (MS) – the disease that killed her mother.
In the wake of her mother Anne Rowling’s death from complications related to MS at the age of 45, the 54-year-old author helped set-up the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic at Scotland’s University of Edinburgh with a $12.3 million donation in 2010.
Rowling has now gifted the university with the huge sum to pay for new facilities and new research projects into the illness – which affects the central nervous system, disrupting the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body.
As well as looking for a cure for MS the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic also carries out research into other brain conditions such as motor neurone disease, Parkinson’s and dementia.
Speaking about her hopes for what the medical centre can go on to achieve, 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.
"It’s a matter of great pride for me that the clinic has combined these lofty ambitions with practical, on the ground support and care for people with MS, regardless of stage and type – I’ve heard first-hand what a difference this support can make."
Rowling – who lives in the Scottish capital and studied at Edinburgh University – has earned an estimated $920 million from the ‘Harry Potter’ books, which have sparked a blockbuster movie franchise and various spin-offs.
The writer has her own charities; the Lumos Foundation which aims to close down all child institutions and orphanages globally by 2050, and the Volant Charitable Trust, which raises money to fund research into multiple sclerosis, and it gets its title from her mother Anne’s maiden name.
J.K. Rowling donates $19m to fund research into MS
