Watson Pharmaceuticals founder Allen Chao and his family are giving $8.1 million to the University of California-Irvine's College of Medicine after he was successfully treated several months ago for stomach cancer at the university's medical center, the Los Angeles Times reports.

The gift is the largest in the university's history and will help expand genetic cancer research by finishing construction of Sprague Hall, which will house the effort. Part of the building will be named the Chao Family Cancer and Genetics Laboratories.

The donation also will be used for diagnostic, prevention and outreach programs aimed at Asian-Americans. Asian-Americans are at a higher risk for stomach cancer, as well as liver, nose and throat cancer, the newspaper reports.

Chao, 54, told the newspaper that through the gift, he is sharing what he learned through his own experience with cancer: prevention is vital. He was diagnosed with stomach cancer during a routine exam while on a trip to Taiwan in June 1999. It was confirmed and treated at UCI.

The gift brings the Chao family's gifts to UCI to $13.8 million, making the family the third-largest donor in the university's history, the newspaper reports.

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