Seau Foundation makes $250K donation to UC San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- The Junior Seau Foundation has pledged $250,000 to support brain injury research and education at the University of California, San Diego.

The gift, which will be formally announced Wednesday, is in memory of the late NFL star linebacker, who took his own life in 2012. Tests later showed Seau suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease associated with repeated blows to the head.

The funds will be used to establish the Junior Seau Endowed Faculty Fellowship in Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and the Junior Seau Lectureship Series to inform the community and K-12 students about the causes of and risks associated with traumatic brain injury.

Total funding will be increased to $1 million after matches by two university entities and the Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind.