The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved the establishment of several endowed research funds at the University of Alabama at Birmingham during its meeting on Sept. 13, 2013.
- The Bourge-Kirklin Endowed Research Fund in Mechanical Circulatory Support was established in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease through gifts from Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Bourge and Dr. and Mrs. James K. Kirklin. Mechanical circulatory support is a life-saving treatment option for critically ill patients with advanced heart failure.
- The Bourge-McGiffin Endowed Research Fund in Heart Transplantation was established in the Division of Cardiovascular Disease through gifts from Dr. and Mrs. Robert C. Bourge and Drs. David C. McGiffin and Allison F. McGiffin.
- The Detraz Endowed Research Fund in Polycystic Kidney Disease in the Division of Nephrology was established through gifts from Robert C. Bourge, M.D., and his wife, Cutessa Detraz Bourge. Polycystic kidney disease is a hereditary disease with complications ranging from hypertension to renal failure, and it often leads to the need for a kidney transplant.