1986 American Heart Association Bugher Program Pivotal to Current Management and Research of Heart Disease

In 1961, philanthropist Fred Bugher, under the guidance of his lawyer Nelson Adams, established the Henriette B. and Frederick H. Bugher Foundation, dedicated to funding cardiovascular research within the District of Columbia. On Fred’s passing, Adams—an inaugural trustee of the Foundation—saw to it that much of his fortune was allocated to his family’s organization. With the foundation’s resources drastically increased, the Board of Trustees decided the scope should be increased as well. Rather than being limited to the nation’s capital, they contacted the American Heart Association (AHA) to seek guidance on how best to contribute to the fight against heart disease. In response to this request, the AHA, led by Dr Howard Morgan, took a refreshing view that would, in part, change the direction of cardiovascular research and management of heart disease in this country and internationally for decades to come. The AHA traditionally funds cardiovascular research selected by the peer review committees from applications submitted by investigators. In general, less than one third of the research applications can be funded. The usual response to a donor was to accept financial contributions to maintain this level of funding for the ongoing research portfolio. However, the Bugher Foundation wanted something novel and more engaging on a sustained basis. This stimulated Howard Morgan and his AHA colleagues to think outside the box. There was on the horizon the techniques of molecular biology and recombinant DNA. These techniques appeared to offer significant advantage over conventional techniques and were being embraced in the basic research disciplines and to a minor extent in cancer research. The cancer researchcommunity recognizing these techniques are DNA-based knew they would be essential to the core of cancer research, namely, the pursuit of abnormal cell growth. The cardiovascular community, particularly adult cardiology, had neither the training nor education to …