Boston Biomedical Research Institute (BBRI) was a non-profit institution concentrating on basic biomedical research to promote the understanding of human diseases (including

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina pectoris, angina, myocardial infarction, heart attack), heart failure, ...

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

and

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

etc.). It was located in Watertown, Massachusetts.

History

BBRI was founded in the late 1960s, and relied on federal money to fund most of its research. In 2008 it received a grant to establish a muscular dystrophy research center. In 2012, reports surfaced that the Institute was financially unsustainable. In the face of a shrinking endowment and decrease of NIH funds, the BBRI Board of Trustees recommended in September, 2012 that the Institute begin a dissolution process. It was also revealed that the institute's funding situation was further hurt when four senior scientists who had significant NIH funding decided to leave BBRI. Members of the Institute's Corporation met on November 15, 2012 and voted to begin the process of closing the Institute. The research institute closed operations in June, 2013. BBRI was also negotiating with Tufts HMO to sell its 1.3 acre property in Watertown, Massachusetts. The proceeds of the sale would be used to pay off some of the organization's creditors.

Timeline

*1950: Charles Schepens founded The Retina Foundation *1968: The Retina Foundation was separated into two institutions: the Boston Biomedical Research Institute and the Eye Research Institute of the Retina Foundation. *2003: Charles Emerson is appointed as new Director

Faculty

* Andrew Bohm * Dave W. Carmichael * Lynne M. Coluccio *Roberto Dominguez * Janice Dominov * Martin L. Duennwald *Charles P. Emerson, Jr. * Peter Erhardt * Jaya Pal Gangopadhyay * John Gergely * Zenon Grabarek * Philip Graceffa * Markus Hardt * Celia Harrison * Sachiko Homma * Noriaki Ikemoto *Peter L. Jones *Oliver King * Toshio Kitazawa * Paul C. Leavis * Sherwin S. Lehrer * Katsuhide Mabuchi * Jeffrey Boone Miller * Kent Nybakken * Henry Paulus * Lucia Rameh * Victor A. Raso * Nilima Sarkar * James L. Sherley * Janet Smith * Walter F. Stafford, III *Eric J Sundberg * Shinichi Takayama * Alex Toker * Hiroshi Tokuo * Moonkyoung Um * Chih-Lueh Albert Wang * Sarah Wilcox-Adelman * Hartmut Wohlrab

References

* * * {{authority control Non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts Watertown, Massachusetts Medical research institutes in Massachusetts