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NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Texas Children’s announces $50 million commitment to support
research in Pediatric Neurology
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Dan and Jan
Duncan |
HOUSTON (Oct. 23, 2007) – Texas
Children’s Hospital today announced a record $50 million gift to
launch the world’s preeminent collaborative institute to study and
treat pediatric neurological disorders.
The gift, made by
Jan and Dan Duncan, will support the creation and development of
the Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital,
the first dedicated facility to use a multidisciplinary research
approach to understand the unique issues of a child’s brain
structure, development patterns and related diseases. Scheduled for
completion in 2010, the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research
Institute at Texas Children’s will be located within the Texas
Medical Center and is a core initiative in Texas Children’s
previously announced Vision 2010 $1.5 Billion expansion
project.
Worldwide, one billion people suffer from some form of the more than
600 disorders that afflict the nervous system. In the United States,
50 million children and adults—more than the number of Americans
with heart disease or cancer combined—are affected by a neurological
or neurodevelopmentally-handicapping condition.
“Brain-related disorders account for the majority of the nation’s
long-term care costs, and when combined with psychiatric disorders,
they account for more hospitalization and prolonged care than nearly
all other diseases combined,” said Ralph D.
Feigin, M.D., physician-in-chief at Texas Children’s Hospital
and J.S. Abercrombie Professor of Pediatrics and chairman of the
department of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine. “Yet,
research funding for neurological diseases, particularly pediatric
diseases, is less than half of what is devoted to conditions like
heart disease or cancer.”
According to Huda Zoghbi, M.D., director
of the institute and professor of pediatrics, neuroscience, and
molecular and human genetics at Baylor College of Medicine, the Jan
and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s
Hospital will bring all the needed experts—chemists, biochemists,
neurobiologists, geneticists, physicists, computer scientists, and
mathematicians—under one roof to solve these complex problems.
The institute will focus on collaborative research, education and
identification of new treatments for pediatric neurological
disorders like autism, epilepsy, Rett syndrome, cerebral palsy and
learning disorders. Zoghbi added that many of these studies will
also impact adult conditions as such as Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease and inherited balance disorders.
“Having diverse expertise in one place along with a strong
infrastructure of core facilities will create an efficient research
environment, where the technology and tools are readily available to
allow researchers to quickly conduct a multitude of biochemical,
genetic and pharmacological tests in a high throughput fashion,
accelerating the pace of discovery to increase the likelihood of
bringing novel therapies to patients,” said Zoghbi, also a Howard
Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
Mrs. Duncan, a member of the Texas Children’s Board of Trustees,
said she and her husband were moved by the burden of the
overwhelming number of different neurological disorders and were
surprised to see how many are interrelated.
“Research support in this area is not commensurate with the impact
of these diseases. Dan and I want to help call attention to the
great need to focus on research and treatments to help those who are
suffering. It’s not being done anywhere else,” said Mrs. Duncan.
Mr. Duncan is chairman and director of Houston-based Enterprise
Products, a leading North American provider of midstream energy
services. He has made a number of significant philanthropic
investments in and outside of the Houston community to advance
medicine, education, spiritual endeavors, and conservation efforts.
For more information:
$50 million donated to Texas Children's - Houston Chronicle
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For
medical inquiries: contact
Blue Bird Clinic
for Pediatric Neurology at 832-822-5046
To learn more
about donating:
contact
the Office of Development
at
832-824-2719
Make an immediate gift.
© 2008 Texas Children's Hospital |
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