Céline Dion donates millions to Colorado for stiff person syndrome research

Céline Dion is making Colorado a leader in autoimmune disease research as she continues her yearslong battle with a rare, chronic neurological disorder called stiff person syndrome .

The latest: The five-time Grammy winner's foundation recently pledged $2 million to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus to establish the Céline Dion Foundation Endowed Chair in Autoimmune Neurology.

• Amanda Piquet, the director of the Autoimmune Neurology Program at CU Anschutz, was named the inaugural chair.

What she's saying: "We are using this to bring in patients from out of state, to help them with [stiff person syndrome], to get to a diagnosis faster, get them on treatments. And then the second component is to advance our research," Piquet told CPR .

What's next: CU Anschutz is helping with a clinical trial, expected to launch this fall, for a new therapy related to the disease.