CHICAGO (AP) - A Chicago-area family is giving University of Chicago Medicine its biggest ever donation - $100 million to establish an institute devoted to improving health and preventing disease by optimizing the body’s own defenses.

The gift announced Wednesday will create The Duchossois (DUHCH’-uh-swah) Family Institute. The donation comes from investment business The Duchossois Group Inc.’s Chairman and CEO Craig Duchossois, his wife, Janet, and The Duchossois Family Foundation.

The institute will support research and interventions based on how the human immune system, microorganisms and genetics interact to maintain health.

University president Robert Zimmer says in a statement that the institute will use “the creativity and skill of university researchers across many fields in bringing new perspectives to medical science.”

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