The operations of the Institute Born-Bunge are funded through income from its own assets and through grants from national and international organizations. However, these resources, while essential, are not sufficient to fully realize our mission or to ensure the long-term sustainability of our work.
Behind every scientific breakthrough lies an infrastructure of care, precision, and dedication. Maintaining a biobank of this scale and importance—with tens of thousands of meticulously documented brain and tissue samples—is both scientifically and logistically demanding.
Each sample is linked to detailed clinical, genetic, and pathological data. It must be carefully processed, preserved, and stored under tightly controlled conditions. This requires specialized equipment, trained staff, secure data systems, and high-capacity freezers that operate at -80°C, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
In addition, we cover the cost of brain autopsies for individuals or families who have chosen to donate tissue after death. These procedures involve trained pathologists, laboratory technicians, and specific infrastructure. They are essential to advancing research into complex brain diseases, but are rarely covered by traditional funding mechanisms.
That is why philanthropic support, through donations, gifts, legacies, or structural partnerships, is so important. It helps us preserve and expand a century-old scientific resource. Every contribution helps protect and grow a unique collection that becomes more valuable with each sample, each study, and each discovery.
Your support allows us to continue this mission with the care, quality, and commitment it deserves.