‘Political stuff does not matter’: Gee urges unity on science as Gates Foundation gives record $540M to UW

The Gates Foundation is giving $540 million to the University of Washington’s (UW) Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the largest single donation in the university’s history.

The grant will fund 10 years of research at the institute, which measures global health data and uses it to inform policy decisions worldwide. IHME became widely known during the COVID-19 pandemic for its forecasting models. The Seattle Times first reported the donation Monday.

KIRO hosts Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin discussed the gift on “The Gee and Ursula Show,” with both noting its significance as federal funding for scientific research grows more uncertain.

“540 million, nearly half a billion. That’s fantastic,” Gee said. “This is the most important part of the story, and this is the part that I want everybody to go away with. The University of Washington said that they wanted to secure this long-term funding now because federal support for science and health research has become increasingly unpredictable.”

Gee connects gift to Obliteride weekend

Gee said his experience over the weekend at Fred Hutch’s Obliteride, a community fundraising event for cancer research, reinforced his belief that scientific research should not be a partisan issue.

“I don’t care if you’re Republican. I don’t care if you’re Democrat or anything. Scientific research shouldn’t be on anybody’s radar when it comes to political discussions and conversations,” Gee said. “This past weekend, when I was around the amazing people that have had cancer, have cancer, are family members of those that are there, volunteers and staff — not one time this weekend, Ursula, did I hear conservative, liberal, Republican, or Democrat.

“When you’re talking about research, scientific research, and help for people, political stuff does not matter,” he continued. “It does not come up when you’re having a fight to fight against these diseases.”

“Absolutely correct,” Ursula responded.

The Gates Foundation helped create IHME in 2007 with a $105 million grant and has been the institute’s largest funder since, contributing about 60% of its budget. The foundation gave $279 million to IHME in 2017, the previous record for the university’s largest private donation. The latest gift comes as global development assistance for health dropped 21% between 2024 and 2025, driven largely by a 67% decline in U.S. spending, according to IHME’s own research.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio