Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Roblox founder David Bashuki and his wife, writer Ian Ellison, and Keystone Capital president Kent Douten and his wife, Liz, have each contributed $50 million to BD2 Breakthrough Discoveries. This project is designed to explore bipolar disorder and find new cures for it. They’re looking for people who are affected by the disease and want to share their stories.
Companies like Google, Roblox, and Keystone Capital invest in bipolar research.
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Kent Douten, BD2 director said, “Our goal with BD2 is to become known, grow and evolve to eventually become one of the leading nonprofits in the field. For now, our focus will be on research.”
For the Dauthen family, this is a deeply personal story. Two of the four children were diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Bashuka’s son was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder in 2016 when he was 19 years old. His diagnosis is the same as one of Brin’s relatives.
The disorder often features manic episodes, which will cause insomnia for a few weeks. It can also feature periods of severe depression, where the individual will not eat or be able to sleep.
There are a variety of unpleasant side effects to modern medications for bipolar disorder. Even a diagnosis usually takes years. Investors hope to change this state of affairs by finding new treatments faster.
The BD2 Foundation will be managed by the Milken Institute’s Center for Strategic Philanthropy, which is run by Michael Milken.
The Center for Strategic Philanthropy will serve as the CEO and chairman of the board of BD2.
The roadmap, developed by the curator and her team, includes the search for more genetic risk factors, the study of the disease’s mechanisms, and how it is classified.
David Bashuki believes that the new BD2 project is in many ways similar to the Roblox universe. On the platform, each user can create their own video games. And the new BD2 charity initiative is taking a similar approach.
“We hope to achieve greater successes,” he says, “by funding the platform instead of a single researcher.”
