SOUTHWEST FOUNDATION FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. The Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research was established in 1941 by Thomas Baker Slick, Jr. Around that time he envisioned a facility devoted to scientific research. With an inheritance, he had purchased 1,600 acres west of San Antonio, which he named the Essar Ranch. On December 16, 1941, he established the Foundation of Applied Research to be operated by a board of trustees. In 1948 Harold Vagtborg became the first president of the foundation. During the early years the institution's headquarters were located at a large estate known as the Cable House, which Slick purchased and restored. Originally, work centered on military-oriented inventions, cloud-seeding experiments, and improvements for on-site construction. Slick and Vagtborg soon focused their energies on recruiting notable scientists for biomedical research. Prominent researchers included Henry C. McGill, Jr., specializing in the field of heart research and the study of baboons as animal models, Joseph Goldzieher pioneering in safe birth-control pills, and Nicholas Werthessen studying atherosclerosis, among others. In 1952 the name of the organization was changed to Southwest Foundation for Research and Education. In the mid-1950s the foundation bought the Argyle Hotel. Members of the Argyle Club, a prestigious private group in San Antonio society, began a long tradition of financial support to the Southwest Foundation. In 1958 the facility established the world's largest baboon colony for the purpose of medical research. Charles F. and Berenice Urschel (mother of Thomas Slick) provided the Urschel Memorial Laboratory in 1969. In 1984 the organization's name was changed to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research. Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s the foundation continued to play a vital role in promoting pioneer research. Studies of heart disease covered a wide range of genetic research, population studies, and primate testing, and the foundation supplied the first baboon heart for transplant into a human in 1984. Scientists also conducted tests for the study of cancer, viral diseases, and disorders in newborn babies. The foundation increasingly focused on AIDS research and the development of possible vaccines through testing with chimpanzees. The institution produced ongoing staff publications of medical findings and participated with a network of worldwide scientific organizations to share information. As part of the Southwest Research Consortium it also cooperated with area groups including the UT Health Science Center, Southwest Research Institute, and Brooke Army Medical Center. In 1992 the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research operated on an 821-acre campus with 275,000 square feet of laboratory space, as well as offices, a library, an animal hospital, and facilities housing 3,300 baboons and over 4,200 other animals. Plans were being made to relocate to a 1,500-acre site, Texas Research Park, in western Bexar County sometime in the future. The foundation had an operating budget of $19 million, with a majority of funds supplied by donations and grants. The staff consisted of 290 employees. Duncan Wimpress was president of the foundation, and George C. Hixon was chairman of the board of governors.
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Progress in Biomedical Research, March 1991. Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research: The First Half Century (Brochure, San Antonio, 1991).
