The growing prevalence of disability is a paradox of progress in the United States and the world.  As we are finding more effective and technologically advanced ways of reducing the risk of diseases like stroke and heart attack, the paradox is that the number of people afflicted by and disabled by these diseases is growing. The actual numbers are daunting. 

Currently more than 700,000 Americans are afflicted by stroke every year leaving more than five and half million Americans chronically disabled from this common disease. While these statistics are hard to conceptualize, the personal toll experienced by patients who can no longer speak, walk, or see is tremendous and easy to appreciate. Indeed, stroke is the number one cause of physiological disability in the U.S., and almost all of us can name a friend or family member devastated by this challenging condition. Thousands more are afflicted by traumatic brain and spinal cord injury.

The primary, overriding goal of the Burke Medical Research Institute (BMRI) is to develop novel therapeutic approaches that give hope to the acutely and chronically disabled. A second, critical part of the mission of BMRI is to foster and cultivate a pool of talented young scientists, clinicians, and clinician-scientists who will lead the next generation in studies on repair and rehabilitation of the nervous system.