A Kansas University alumnus and a leading scientist in the pharmaceutical industry has donated $500,000 to a professorship fund he established three years ago.

Irving Johnson, known for his diabetes research, initially contributed $507,000 to the KU Endowment Association in 2004. The money was used to establish the Irving Johnson Professorship in Molecular Biology.

Johnson’s latest contribution includes funding for a professorship, as well as for a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher who will assist the professor.

“It’s remarkable that he’s enhanced the already attractive gift,” said Kathy Suprenant, chairwoman of the KU department of molecular biosciences.

Johnson, 82, lives in Stonington, Maine. In 1953, he earned a doctorate in zoology from KU. His research led to the genetic engineering and commercial production of human insulin.