The Director’s Innovation Fund was initiated in 2019 by Scott Fisher, an Illinois alumnus. He wanted to honor his late wife Bonita J. Fisher, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis—a neurological disease that affects millions of people, but has no known cures.

Neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis affect millions of people worldwide and yet, there exist no known cures. Multiple sclerosis, a disease that causes deterioration of the nerves due to miscommunication between the brain and body, was of particular interest to Illinois alumnus Scott Fisher. As an alumnus, Fisher had a desire to give back to the university but to also honor his late wife Bonita J. Fisher, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

Scott Fisher believes learning how to solve a problem can be as valuable as solving one.

This belief is what drove him to create a fund that will support IGB research in the area of regenerative biology and tissue engineering.

The fund will aid the research needs of graduate students working in this area of study – specifically those who are developing technologies to culture brain tissue to learn about brain cancer, traumatic brain injuries and neurological disorders.