Today, Facebook is a social media platform on which millions of people interact and share pictures every day. But the wealth it has amassed for its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, could also be the catalyst for eliminating the world’s diseases.

Silicon Valley power couple Mark Zuckerbrg and Dr. Priscilla Chan have announced that they are pledging $3 billion with the goal of eliminating the world’s disease in our children’s lifetimes — definitely a very bold goal no matter how you look at it. Chan announced in San Francisco recently that they had chosen Cori Bergmann, a respect neuroscientist and geneticist, to be the new president of Chan Zuckerberg Science.

Bargmann, a professor at the Rockefeller University in New York, described herself as a “really curious person,” according to a CNN report. She is married to Nobel laureat Richard Axel, who is a neuroscientist at Columbia University.

How will this $3 billion go toward eliminating the world’s diseases? It’s not necessarily about simply doing more research, but connecting scientists better. Zuckerberg said during the announcement that most of the big breakthroughs happen when science is done by groups of scientists either work together or working separately and then sharing that data. He said if the connections could be made faster, progress could increase by leaps and bounds.

Here’s what their website says about the initiative:

The Chan Zuckerburg Initiative
Advancing Human Potential and Promoting Equality

WE’RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE FUTURE

We want every child to grow up in a better world. Our hopes for the future center on two ideas: advancing human potential and promoting equality. We’ll focus first on personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities. We will make long-term investments over 25, 50 or even 100 years because our greatest challenges require time to solve.

Learn more about our goal of helping cure, prevent and manage all diseases in our children’s lifetime.

“The only way that we reach our full human potential is if we’re able to unlock the gifts of every person around the world.”
— Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg