The Henrietta B. and Frederick H. Bugher Foundation

Four multidisciplinary teams comprised the Centers of Excellence in Hemorrhagic Stroke Research Network. The focus of their work was to improve prevention, treatment and health outcomes related to hemorrhagic (bleeding) strokes. The Bugher Foundation supported this network with a $11.12 million gift.

The team in this network were from:

• Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
• Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
• University of California, San Francisco

The University of California, San Francisco received a separate, additional grant award to establish a centralized training center to grow science curriculum and career-development training opportunities to help create the next generation of stroke scientists and researchers.

In 2011, the Bugher Foundation committed $9.24 million to create a new network of three centers for excellence in stroke collaborative research. This initiative supported the collaboration of basic, clinical and population researchers from different specialties, whose collective efforts focused on new approaches to prevent and treat stroke. Efforts were expanded from previous Bugher initiatives by inviting research on recovery after a stroke, including the areas of repair, regeneration, neuroplasticity and rehabilitation. These awarded Centers were at the following institutions:

• University of California, Los Angeles
• University of Colorado, Denver
• University of Miami

The Bugher Foundation committed $8.4 million to support three Centers for Stroke Prevention Research. The initiative produced a network of interacting institutions and scientists for collaborative, multidisciplinary research and training to improve the prevention of stroke. The awarded Centers were at:

• Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
• Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston
• University of California, Davis

1n 1998, the Bugher Foundation committed $7.5 million over eight years to support the development of better stroke preventive measures and better stroke interventions. In 1999, the foundation increased its commitment to this initiative with an additional $1 million challenge grant to match two-for-one with new dollars in the community. The additional contribution from the Bugher Foundation and the community-at-large supported eight more stroke grants, supporting a total of 35 grants.

This commitment enabled the Association to support another of its goals: to expand research funded through the National Center to promising new areas by launching targeted research programs, focusing on any aspect of brain vascular function related to stroke. Such investigations included but were not limited to:

• Blood-brain barrier function
• Endothelial mechanisms in cerebral vessels
• Interaction of stroke risk factors with cerebral blood vessels
• Male/female differences in cerebral blood vessel function
• Mechanisms of ischemic injury (involving cerebral blood vessels)
• Molecular biology of cerebral vessels
• Molecular genetics (of disorders of cerebral blood vessels)
• Regulation of cerebral blood vessels

In 1984, the Bugher Foundation sought the American Heart Association's guidance in identifying a focus for its research support. The result was a program to give molecular biology training to clinically-trained investigators. A $9.4 million contribution established the Centers for Molecular Biology in the Cardiovascular System. Through the six Centers, about 120 clinically-trained fellows learned molecular biology techniques. The Centers were located at the following institutions:

• Baylor College of Medicine, Houston
• Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston
• Children's Hospital, Boston
• Stanford University
• University of California, San Diego
• University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas