The University of New England will have a new research center dedicated to environmental and human health, thanks to a $5 million donation from the founder of IDEXX Laboratories, the school announced Wednesday.

The Institute of Public and Planetary Health will be named in honor of donor David Evans Shaw, and is an interdisciplinary research and academic center focused on health sciences, public health, marine and environmental science, political science and sustainable business.

The private university said in a statement that recent developments, from the COVID-19 pandemic to climate change, have “underscored how human health and planetary health are inextricably linked.” The institute will incorporate several of the university’s existing programs in public health, sustainability, aging and climate change, and will add new programs and courses yet to be announced.

“The institute reflects two defining priorities of our time — and central themes of my career: improving quality of life and advancing wise stewardship of our natural world,” Shaw said in the statement. “By bringing together science, innovation, and multidisciplinary collaboration, we will catalyze high-impact solutions for people and the planet to shape a brighter future.”

Shaw is an entrepreneur and activist who founded the Westbrook-based pet technology company IDEXX. He established a program, the Shaw Innovation Fellowship, at UNE in 2021. It will be incorporated into the new institute. The university gave him an honorary doctor of science degree in 2022.

UNE is based in Biddeford but has a campus in Portland, which is the new home of the state’s only medical school. The institute will have a physical location on UNE’s Portland campus, spokesperson Alan Bennett said, although a space has not yet been identified.