II. History.

   The National Institutes of Health began funding multidisciplinary goal-oriented research in the early 1960's. In 1972, through the efforts of the National Heart and Lung Institute (now the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute), Congress passed legislation establishing three centers, one each for diseases of the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. In July 1974 Baylor College of Medicine was designated the site of the nations first National Heart and Blood Vessel Research and Demonstration Center and was awarded a five-year grant of $13.4 million by the NHLI, to begin January 1, 1975. The Center was to implement what was considered a unique approach to disease prevention, combining basic and clinical research with demonstration and community education. The purpose was to translate laboratory findings into community programs for the prevention of heart disease. An additional three-year grant of $9.2 million was awarded in 1979 to support the Center through December 31, 1982.

   Dr. Michael E. DeBakey served as Director and Principal Investigator of the Center and Dr. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., was Scientific Director and Co-Principal Investigator. The Center was organized into three divisions: Research, Control and Demonstration, and Education During the Center's eight years, over 84 organizations participated in the Center's educational and clinical projects, including junior and senior high schools, government agencies, and civic and corporate organizations.

   During 1981 and 1982, NRDC began to phase out some projects and others were continued through Individual grants and through a specialized center of research (SCOR) grant by NIH in atherosclerosis. In

May of 1982, the Education Division of NRDC received a five-year grant from NHLBI to establish a Demonstration and Education Research Program, designed to change behaviors that put families at risk for cardiovascular disease. It was felt that continuation of these selected projects would thus allow a viable National Research and Demonstration Center to be maintained.