By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The Pritzker administration is bragging about a big “get” – a research “biohub” in Chicago that’s part of a Mark Zuckerberg project. 

The goal, said Gov. JB Pritzker at Thursday’s launch, is to eradicate disease.

“CZ Biohub Chicago has the capacity to revolutionize our understanding of the fundamental design rules for human biology,” Pritzker said, “laying the groundwork for trailblazing advances in our ability to treat and prevent chronic inflammatory diseases, from cancer to autoimmune and neurodegenerative diseases.

“That’s a big deal, and we’re at the center of it.”

“We really don’t know what causes inflammation to shift into overdrive,” said Biohub Chicago’s president, Shana Kelley. “We have to get at that if we want to prevent human disease.”

Biohub Chicago will draw upon research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Chicago, and Northwestern University.

And Priscilla Chan, co-founder and co-CEO of the Chan Zuckerberg initiative with her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, joked that she and Pritzker have something in common. 

“I saw a headline that touted you as a geek for quantum computing,” she said. “I don’t know how many of your constituents have that as their top priority, but it is mine!”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].