WashU Medicine in St. Louis is turning a philanthropic gift of $50 million into a vehicle for recruiting neurosurgeons and researchers, and enhancing the research capabilities of the facility’s neurosurgery department.

Andrew Taylor, an emeritus trustee of Washington University in St. Louis, and his wife, Barbara, made the donation after receiving care from WashU Medicine neurosurgeons. The department has been re-named the Taylor Family Department of Neurosurgery.