SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — A foundation in Michigan has donated $10 million to the University of Notre Dame for the creation of a center specializing in biophysical research.

Provost Thomas Burish says the donation from the William and Linda Stavropoulos Family Foundation of Midland, Michigan, will allow the university to significantly expand its work in that area. The goal of the Stavropoulos Center for Interdisciplinary Biophysics donation is to bring Notre Dame thought leaders focused on the connections between physics, biology and medicine who will work with physicists, biologists, chemists, mathematicians and engineers. This group will work jointly to pursue novel approaches to cancer, stem cell biology, imaging, therapeutic development and other research topics.

College of Science Dean Mary Galvin says the funding will enable the university to attract elite research talent.