The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Foundation has announced the launch of the SIR Foundation Endowment, a new funding stream designed to support interventional radiology (IR) research and education.
“Research frequently struggles due to inconsistent financial support, creating significant gaps in critical areas,” said SIR Foundation chair and the Ernest H Wood Distinguished Professor, Maureen P Kohi (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, USA). “The SIR Foundation is uniquely equipped to tackle this challenge, leveraging its expansive network of dedicated donors and researchers united in their commitment to advancing IR research.”
A press release issued by SIR states that the endowment offers a reliable and sustainable revenue stream to support SIR Foundation’s strategic mission to advance IR through research and education that supports research.
During SIR Foundation’s annual Gala (30 March, Nashville, USA), the foundation celebrated the first gift to the new endowment, made by interventional radiologist Barry T Katzen and his wife Judith S Katzen.
“Changes in healthcare policy and the resulting funding fluctuations can have detrimental effects on long-term research. We need to support the pioneering innovations that interventional radiology brings to healthcare. That is why Judith and I felt it was so important to invest in, and help launch, the SIR Foundation Endowment,” said Katzen, who is chief medical innovation officer of Baptist Health South Florida, and founder and chief medical executive emeritus of Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute. “Long-term philanthropic investments, like the SIR Foundation Endowment, ensure that essential research projects can continue without interruption, despite external forces.”
