Tull Family Foundation Funds UPMC Neurosurgery Imaging Center

February 17, 2021

In a joint announcement by UPMC Department of Neurosurgery and the Tull Family Foundation, a $1 million dollar donation was made to develop The Alba Tull Center for Neuro Imaging and Therapeutics.    The new Center is dedicated to using augmented realty (AR)  imaging technologies to develop  new approaches to brain and spine disorders. Also, basic research is supported  to enhance longevity and  treat diseases of aging. Among the center’s other priorities will be training physician-scientists in the application of this technology and finding innovative methods to apply augmented reality (AR) to reduce morbidity and enhance safety for patients.

The Tull Family Foundation (TFF) was founded by Thomas and Alba Tull to support organizations that are devoted to transforming the lives of the people in underserved and underfunded communities. A private foundation, TFF funds the advancement of innovative ideas in education, medical and scientific research, and conservation. In 2019, the foundation made a $1.5 million grant to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation to support pediatric research and art therapy programs. Thomas Tull is also a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.

Dr. Joseph Maroon, of the Department of Neurosurgery at UPMC, was instrumental in the Tull Foundations choice to fund the new Center and has stress its importance to Pittsburgh and the surround region to have such a state-of-the-art center at UPMC.

“To see beyond the limits of our senses has allowed humans to see the stars and beyond.  The Alba Tull Center for Neuro Imaging and Therapeutics will now allow similar advanced technology to look inward at the human brain.  To see the brain anatomy, in real-time, will provide the safest pathways to help save lives.  This technology, provided by the Foundation, will allow current and future generations of neurosurgeon’s endless opportunities to advance skills that could not be imagined until recently. Pittsburgh now has become one of just a handful of centers in the world that has this capability,” reported Dr. Maroon.