Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, family donating $50 million to CHOP, Penn for autism institute

Jeffrey Lurie and family make historic donation to launch Lurie Autism Institute

The $50 million gift will help launch the Lurie Autism Institute with CHOP and Penn Medicine.

PHILADELPHIA - Every Eagles fan knows the Lurie name, but now the famous family is making its mark on Philadelphia in another historic way.

What we know:

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and his family are donating $50 million to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Penn Medicine as part of a philanthropic partnership to launch the Lurie Autism Institute.

The gift is the largest single donation to academic medical centers in the country focusing on autism research and treatment.

Lurie and his family have long been involved in funding research efforts to combat autism, including creating the Eagles Autism Foundation, as a way of bringing awareness and action for autism.

What they're saying:

Tuesday, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie used his wealth to open a new assault on autism. Lurie said, "We saw an opportunity to bring together some of the world’s top minds and to accelerate discovery. Autism is one of the most complex, scientific public challenges of our time."

Lurie, whose brother is a person with autism, sat alongside his sister and healthcare executives to jumpstart the Lurie Autism Institute. Madeline Bell leads the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She said, "In fact, one in 31 children have an autism spectrum disorder and early diagnosis and treatment is really critical for those children."

CHOP said in a statement that "The Lurie Autism Institute will strategically leverage CHOP and Penn Medicine’s strengths in autism research and translating scientific discoveries to patient care. The initiative will seek answers to the most challenging and important questions around ASD, related to its causes, underlying biological processes, evolution throughout the lifespan, and developing new treatments."

Big picture view:

Mony McCarty recalls the moment in her kitchen when her little boy, Snai, was simply unable to respond to her repeated calls to him. She said, "I grabbed him by his face and said, ‘Snai,’ and he still would not look at me and in that moment, I broke down and I just cried, and I said there’s something wrong."

It was the medical staff at CHOP, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who told her and her husband, Daniel, the 6-year-old had Level 3 autism, requiring substantial support.

Daniel Rader of Penn Medicine will act as the interim leader of the Lurie Autism Institute. He said, "I actually think there are going to be major breakthroughs in understanding autism and translating the understanding into new therapies. I really do."

 Breakthroughs the McCarty’s want for their son Snai. Mony McCarty said, "This gift is monumental, it is life-changing, literally life-changing for so many, many families."