The Miller family has donated $35 million to the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation to support the development of the Translational Research Building at the Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah, according to a November 9 statement.
The gift from Gail Miller and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation will help complete the 185,000-square-foot facility located in the University's Research Park.
The funds are designated to equip the building's labs, imaging, and technology, while also assisting the Institute in recruiting and retaining top physician-scientists. Pending approval by the University of Utah Board of Trustees, the facility will be named the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Translational Research Building.
When the building opens in fall 2027, researchers and clinicians will work together to translate discoveries regarding mental illness into improved patient care. The facility is designed to shorten the path from lab to patient by grouping research teams into hubs around shared problems, featuring both wet and computer-based dry labs on the same floors.
The building will house advanced technology, including a 7-tesla MRI scanner that is more than twice as powerful as a standard hospital MRI. Researchers intend to use such tools to study topics including suicide prevention, addiction, youth mental health, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and maternal mental health.
Additionally, the site will host the Utah location for the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a long-term study following nearly 12,000 young people from ages 9 and 10 into young adulthood. The facility will also explore new treatments such as focused ultrasound and psychedelic medicine for hard-to-treat conditions.
The Miller family joins the Huntsman family, who provided a $150 million gift to found the Institute in 2019. Construction on the new building began in October 2023, following a $90 million appropriation by the Utah Legislature in 2021.
Gail Miller, co-founder of the Larry H. Miller Company and chair of the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation, stated that the building will bring research and clinical care together to help move new discoveries into better access for people and communities.
