The chair is currently held by Professor Adrian Hill, who is the principal investigator for the Oxford trial to develop the vaccine
LN Mittal, Chairman of the world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal, has gifted 3.5 million pounds to Oxford University's professorship in vaccinology.
The grant not just helps in ensuring the continuity of the chair, but also gives fillip to the work in developing a vaccine for COVID-19.
The chair, which will now be called the Lakshmi Mittal and Family Professorship of Vaccinology, is currently held by Professor Adrian Hill, who is the principal investigator for the Oxford trial to develop the vaccine.
The vaccine, for which India's Serum Institute is also a partner, is currently undergoing human trials in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.
"Having always had a keen interest in healthcare, like many I was following with great interest the work on potential vaccines and treatments for COVID-19,"Mittal said in a statement.
"After a fascinating conversation with Professor Hill, my family and I concluded that the work he and his team are doing is not only extraordinary but essential, not just for this current crisis but for other challenges we may face in the future," he added.
ArcelorMittal was a founding member of the Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group, the private sector's response to the Ebola outbreak in Africa in 2014.
Professor Hill, is the Director of the Oxford Jenner Institute, now the largest academic vaccine centre in the world, had led the first clinical trial of a vaccine for the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.