Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute

The Golisano IDD Institute will bring together a multidisciplinary team dedicated to innovation and bettering the lives of people with IDD and their families. The institute will expand into a new state-of-the-art space bringing together the leading programs in University of Rochester’s IDD patient care, education, community outreach, and caregiver support that serve approximately 120,000 families in the region.

A second location of the Complex Care Center will support the growing population of adults living with an IDD and it will become a primary training site for health care providers specializing in this area of care. Eastman Institute for Oral Health (EIOH) will expand its Specialty Clinic and telemedicine services, allowing it to serve more IDD patients. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics as well as the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) and University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD) will expand their integrated care and developmental disabilities training functions, and collaborate across the Institute to ensure advocacy, accessibility, and education are relevant to the needs of the IDD community. The Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center (IDDRC) will advance diagnostics and provide genetic testing to leverage our understanding of IDDs.

The University is one of only eight institutions in the US with the trifecta of federal awards that support the work of the LEND, UCEDD, and IDDRC.

The Golisano IDD Institute is named for entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader Tom Golisano, whose $50 million gift announced in June 2024 made it possible to bring together these programs to help close health care gaps, advance breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment, expand educational opportunities, and inform local and national policy development, and improve the lives of individuals with IDD and their families.

—June 2024