Google co-founder Sergey Brin has said that his multi-billion dollar donations to fund Parkinson’s disease research is deeply personal because he carries a genetic mutation linked to the disease that also affected his late mother. Brin, whose mother Eugenia Brin was diagnosed with Parkinson’s more than two decades ago, has donated more than $2 billion to support research into the neurological disorder. “This work is personal because it starts with Parkinson’s disease, and I carry one of the genetic mutations discovered, the G2019S mutation to the LRKK2 gene,” Sergey Brin wrote in an email to Forbes in 2025. “This work led to the discovery of a new GBA1 gene variant that increases the risk of PD [Parkinson’s disease] in people of African ancestry. I’m optimistic about similar discoveries that will improve care for people with bipolar disorder and autism,” he then stated.
Sergey Brin says Parkinson’s research began with his family’s experience
Sergey Brin’s mother, Eugenia Brin, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than 20 years ago. Her illness also led Brin to learn that he carries the G2019S mutation in the LRRK2 gene, one of the best-known genetic risk factors for Parkinson’s disease.According to Forbes, Brin has donated more than $2 billion toward Parkinson’s research, making him one of the world’s largest private supporters of research into the disease. His donations have funded genetic studies, biomarker research, clinical trials and scientific collaborations across several institutions.Brin’s support for Parkinson’s research began with a $1.5 million donation to the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where his mother received treatment. The contribution established the Eugenia Brin Professorship in Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders.Eugenia Brin died in December 2024 at the age of 76, before a cure for the disease could be found. However, the research effort inspired by her diagnosis continues through the funding Brin has committed over nearly two decades.
Google founder Sergey Brin ’s philanthropic donations
Apart from Parkinson’s disease, Brin has also expanded his philanthropy to support research into bipolar disorder and autism, with much of the work carried out under his broader CNS Quest initiative, which focuses on conditions affecting the central nervous system.His team soft launched ARIA in October 2024, , focusing from the start not just on the basic science. Ekemini Riley, who co-leads ARIA said ““What we’ve learned and seen from our other initiatives is that it’s really important to fund both things in parallel, and have that feedback loop across both the science and the clinical side of things, like trial design, drug development and therapeutics”.