Through her estate, the late Amelia “Margie” Gould wished to help children and adults with asthma, a commitment she made after losing her husband, Charles, to an asthma attack.

Thanks to $17.5 million in total giving from the Charles and Amelia Gould Revocable Trust, the Brigham created the Charles and Amelia Gould Center for Asthma and Pulmonary Disease Research. At an April celebration, the hospital dedicated the center and named the pulmonary outpatient clinic the Charles and Amelia Gould Lung Center.

Joseph Pareres, a trustee of the Gould Trust, reflected at the event, “We were entrusted to fulfill Margie’s dream of creating healthier futures for all those who suffer from asthma. When we learned of the Brigham’s work, it became clear this institution would keep Margie’s dream alive.”

Bruce Levy, MD, and Elliot Israel, MD, two of the country’s foremost asthma clinician-scientists, co-direct the Gould Center and lead its work to advance research, education, and clinical innovations for asthma and other pulmonary conditions. The longtime collaborators have pioneered extensive research investigating new asthma therapies and treatment guidelines to improve care for the more than 25 million children and adults with severe asthma nationwide.

“The Gould Center will bring the entire continuum of asthma research and care together, with support for the full spectrum of our research mission and important patient care and educational initiatives in asthma,” said Levy, chair of the Brigham’s Department of Medicine, co-director of the Lung Center, chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, and the Francis Professor of Medicine.

Israel, director of clinical research in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and the Simboli Distinguished Chair in Asthma Research, added, “The Gould Trust’s generosity is the catalyst we needed to accelerate this work and bring discoveries from the bench to the bedside for those who need them most—patients and their families. We’re grateful for the Gould Trust’s belief in our work and for Margie’s commitment.”

This funding also supports a distinguished chair, research fellow, psychiatric social worker, and patient navigator for people with severe asthma.

Denise Caminite, a trustee of the Gould Trust, shared, “There are countless medical geniuses all over the world. But to find medical geniuses with heart—that’s rare. And that’s what we found at the Brigham.”