The First Hundred Years

The Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute (now known as the Sprague Foundation) was founded in 1911 as a nonprofit foundation with a mandate to pursue “the investigation of the cause of disease and the prevention and relief of human suffering in the City of Chicago, County of Cook, State of Illinois.”

Otho S.A. Sprague was active in a variety of civic initiatives, including the Burnham Plan of 1909, which melded concepts of the City Beautiful movement with concerns for health, education, and civil society. By creating one of the nation’s earliest foundations, Sprague was both a pioneer in redistributing personal wealth and a visionary investor in medical research and wellness promotion.

The Institute began as a research program focused on cancer, the effects of chemotherapy on tuberculosis, industrial diseases and the metabolism of carbohydrates affecting diabetes. Early researchers pioneered the use of insulin to control diabetes, performed lung surgeries to stem the effect of cigarettes on lung cancer, and studied environmental factors like coal dust for their impact on health. In 1913, mental health conditions, specifically chemical treatments of dementia praecox (schizophrenia) and related challenges, were added to the research program.

By 1915, The Institute supported a staff of 20. Scientific researchers on the team helped bring about the following advances:

• Physician Rollin T. Woodyatt became an international expert on diabetes and was actively involved in the trials of insulin.
• Maud Slye, an Institute researcher at the University of Chicago, was hailed for her 38 years of work in breeding mice used in liver tumor and cancer research. She autopsied 150,000 mice during her career.
• Sprague Investigators Drs. George and Gladys Dick began studying treatments for polio. During their effort, they discovered the cause of scarlet fever.
• Physician Henry Helmholz became a renowned pediatrician and founded the Pediatric Section at the Mayo Clinic.
• Physician Evarts Graham was among the first to note the relationship of lung cancer to cigarettes.
• Physician Henry Corper became the area’s foremost investigator of tuberculosis, a disease that he contracted but continued to research.

During World War I, Sprague researchers continued their work but increasingly pursued wartime topics, such as developing a fabric that was impervious to certain poisons. In the post war years, the Institute turned to research in pathology, bacteriology, biochemistry, psychology, and psychiatry, annually publishing about 23 scientific papers.

In World War II, the Institute focused on health conditions associated with the brain and head traumas faced by soldiers. Sprague researchers also helped correct the design in range finders and the risks of high altitude flight. As part of the wartime effort, Institute teams sought to produce artificial blood, to no avail.

During the post-war years, the program again transitioned. To restore depleted research staffs, the Institute supported young investigators and established a system of block grants to select institutions. The Institute pursued this new strategy just as federal funding for medical research began to swell, eclipsing the role of private philanthropy. Through unrestricted funding and the support of seed research, the Institute attempted to find a niche in a shifting research environment. The beneficiaries were Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Hospital, the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Children’s Memorial Hospital.

Grants supported a variety of topics ranging from cardiovascular research, organ transplant rejection, hormone influences, gastric disease, radiation treatments for cancer, pediatric anesthesia problems, kidney disease and dialysis research, and pediatric surgery techniques. A 1966 Institute report catalogued an impressive list of scientific research initiatives and cumulative total of $6 million in grantmaking.

In 1965, as one of the nation’s oldest foundations, Sprague Memorial Institute was invited to membership in the newly created Council on Foundations. During the 1970s and ‘80s, the Institute continued its grantmaking to medical research institutions to support individual investigators and teachers. This era brought about a transition from the Institute’s origins in primary research to a more focused priority around philanthropic giving.

In 1995, under the leadership of James Alexander, the Sprague Memorial Institute funded the creation of the Chicago Asthma Initiative, a diverse group of researchers, providers, and community-based health centers. The Initiative collected data, developed and applied innovative solutions, and shared outcomes with stakeholders. These advances have empowered patients to better manage their conditions and lead healthier lives.

In 2002, Sprague seed funding created the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), a network of more than 3,000 individual and organizational representatives dedicated to addressing childhood obesity.  Based at Ann and Robert Lurie Children’s Hospital, CLOCC became a globally recognized model. Its evidence-based approach has resulted in numerous legislative and public policy changes, generated new clinical best practices, and empowered communities and families to address the epidemic in culturally appropriate ways. Longitudinal research shows obesity rates in pre-kindergarteners were reduced by two percentage points due to CLOCC’s efforts.

Under the direction of Sprague’s first full-time Executive Director, Sprague Memorial Institute will soon embark on a comprehensive strategic plan to determine more focused priorities within the clinical healthcare and public health arenas. With a firm commitment to equity at its center, the new strategic plan will aim to optimize outcomes for Chicago residents and their families.