Douglas and Diana Berthiaume have made a transformational gift to the University of Notre Dame to advance biomedical research through strategic investments in critical infrastructure. The gift, totaling $35 million, establishes the Center for Biomedical Discovery. It includes $5 million in seed funding for multidisciplinary research teams, promoting new collaborations among biomedical researchers in the Colleges of and .
The Center for Biomedical Discovery is a foundational piece of the (BELS) Initiative, a partnership between science and engineering that emphasizes three strategic research pillars — health foundations, health technologies and health equities.
“Bioengineering & Life Sciences is a key priority in , bringing together researchers from a variety of fields to create transformative solutions for human health,” said , the Charles and Jill Fischer Provost at the University of Notre Dame. “This exceptionally generous gift will ensure that our faculty and students have access to the advanced instrumentation they need to pursue discovery at the highest level, now and for generations to come.”
With support from the Berthiaume family and consistent with the University’s strategic framework, the center will govern strategic investment in biomedical research infrastructure, serving existing faculty while helping to recruit world-leading researchers to join the ranks of Notre Dame faculty.
Specifically, the center will support researchers with centralized access to cutting-edge technologies such as high-resolution cryo-transmission electron microscopy, modern flow cytometry and advanced biofabrication capabilities. It will also recruit staff capable of training researchers, maintaining instrumentation and interpreting data.
“Doug and Diana Berthiaume’s extraordinary generosity will accelerate Notre Dame’s ability to pursue bold, collaborative discovery at the frontiers of biomedical science,” said , the William K. Warren Foundation Dean of the College of Science. “By investing in shared, state-of-the-art research infrastructure, the Center for Biomedical Discovery will empower our faculty and students to work with cutting-edge technologies across disciplines, deepen our understanding of human health and disease and translate fundamental insights into real-world impact in service to the common good.”
“The Berthiaumes’ gift is a catalyst for a new era at Notre Dame, one that enables us to transcend traditional boundaries between engineering and the life sciences,” said , the Matthew H. McCloskey Dean of the College of Engineering. “By providing the sophisticated instrumentation and specialized expertise necessary for our engineers and scientists to collaborate fully, this investment empowers our researchers to co-create the next generation of life-saving and life-enhancing technologies.”
To date, this is the most significant gift to the BELS initiative, which lays out a vision for an ambitious investment of $165 million and which continues to build momentum toward advancing the frontiers of biomedical research. John Fisher, currently chair of the Fischell Department of Bioengineering at the University of Maryland, was recently appointed director of the BELS Initiative, effective Aug. 1, and the first instrumentation procurement, a Glacios 2 Cryo-Transmission Electron Microscope, is underway, with installation this spring.
“Diana and I strongly believe the future of disease treatment and prevention is through the precision medicine approach,” Douglas Berthiaume said. “Our recent investment in the Center for Biomedical Discovery will be important in strengthening Notre Dame’s position in precision medicine research.”
Douglas Berthiaume is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts. Until his retirement in 2015, he served as president and chief executive officer of Waters Corp., a global company based in Massachusetts specializing in precision analytical equipment for the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. He currently serves as chairman of the board of trustees of Boston Children’s Hospital.
Diana Berthiaume earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Bentley College (now Bentley University), a private business school in Waltham, Massachusetts. She oversees the operations of the Berthiaume Family Foundation.
The Berthiaumes previously created an endowment at Notre Dame for the Berthiaume Family Professor of Neuroscience and made a gift to the University to establish the . They are members of the University’s President’s Circle and the Provost’s Leadership Group. They also are longtime supporters of the University of Massachusetts and Boston-area health care institutions, including Boston Children’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
The Berthiaumes reside in Andover, Massachusetts, and have two daughters, Maggie and Abby, a 2020 graduate of Notre Dame.