A brief history of The Rebecca L Cooper Medical Research Foundation

The Foundation was inaugurated on 13 January 1984.  The original five directors included Mrs Rebecca Lillian Cooper, who in her Will of the same date endowed the Foundation.  The other directors were Mr Kevin Cahill (Chairman) her solicitor; Mr Al Rosenstrauss (Secretary) her real estate and business manager; Dr Nick Gregory, her GP; and Dr Tom Cromer, an endocrinologist.

Mrs Cooper died on 29 April 1984, bequeathing one hundred and five properties to the Foundation.   The majority of these properties comprised terrace houses scattered through the inner suburbs of Sydney.  They were predominantly located in the prestigious suburbs of Woollahra, Paddington and Bondi Junction.  At the time of her death, with few exceptions, the properties were in very poor repair with many being dilapidated and derelict.

Over the years, the composition of the Board of Directors has changed.

In 1999 Professor Ron Trent (1999-2005) of Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Professor Philip Sambrook (1999-2009), Head of the Rheumatology Department at the Royal North Shore Hospital was appointed to the Board.  In 2000, Dr Nick Gregory resigned and Dr Ross Paterson GP was elected in his place.  With the resignation of Professor Ron Trent, Professor Nicholas Hunt (2006-2008) Head of the Bosch Institute of The University of Sydney was appointed.  In late 2008, Professor Nicholas Hunt resigned and Professor John Rasko was appointed in his stead.  Professor Philip Sambrook resigned in November 2009 and his place has been taken by Professor Brian Dean of the RL Cooper Laboratories in Victoria – our first interstate Director. The founding chairman, Mr Kevin Cahill resigned in late 2010 due to ill health.  Kevin was closely involved with the Foundation from its inception until his retirement and his contribution to the work of the Foundation has been invaluable.  Patrick O'Brien, a partner of a Sydney firm of solicitors, was appointed as a director on 19 March 2011 and as secretary of the Foundation on 13 August 2011.

The Board has continued with the philosophy that Mrs Cooper had established, in that the properties should be maintained in the ownership of the Foundation and not sold.  Notwithstanding this philosophy, necessity has compelled the Board to dispose of some of the underperforming properties and purchase other properties in their place.

The Board is working to progressively upgrade the properties to a standard commensurate to current expectations of the rental market.  This is an expensive business, as most of the original properties are in heritage conservation areas. In the early years, Councils were happy to see these derelict eyesores being improved, that they largely left us alone to renovate.  But as the eighties progressed, “Heritage” became the catchcry and we now find that we are dictated to as to colours and materials to be used both internally and externally.  While the properties do end up looking magnificent, they do so at a greatly increased cost. 

The annual income of the Foundation has steadily increased from below $80,000 in 1984 to more than $3 million at present. A large part of our income continues to be used for maintenance and improvement of the properties.  However, with the accelerated income return that this work provides, the time will come when a far larger proportion of our income will be available to the medical research fraternity.  We envisage that we will then be able to invest beyond our original endowment, thereby ensuring the continued growth of the Foundation.

2012 is the 28th year in which the Foundation has given medical research grants.  It took 7 years to achieve our first $1.0 million in grants, commencing in 1984 when two grants were made totalling $9,640. By March 2011 the Foundation had awarded grants for medical research exceeding $14.2 million with $935,947 being given in the 2011 year alone.

One of our early major grants totalled $250,000.  This was given, by instalments, for the establishment of the Rebecca L Cooper Laboratories at the Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria.  A major focus of the Foundation has been on schizophrenia research, which has now expanded to become “Brain Sciences.”

We began to sponsor genetic research in 1991, which of course covers many disciplines, some of which we do not specifically support.  Currently, brain sciences and genetics account for a large slice of the cake, reflecting the increasing number of applications we receive under these headings.  We update and add categories as we can afford to do so.

The Leo Dintenfass Award and the John and Eileen Haddon Award now include a monetary prize of $5,000 and $2,000 respectively, to be used by the recipients to advance their careers.

In 2012 the Foundation was proud to announce a new award, the Al and Val Rosenstrauss Medical Fellowship.  This award is a groundbreaking achievement for the Foundation.  The successful candidate will be awarded a fellowship with a grant $100,000 per annum for four years to assist them pursue their chosen research.

Named after Al Rosenstrauss and his wife Val, the Foundation hopes that the award will become a sought after and highly regarded appointment.

Al Rosenstrauss is well known to all who have had any dealings with the Foundation.  A founding director with a unique personality and award presentation style, Al knew Rebecca Cooper for many years  His tireless work for the Foundation was recognised in 2008 with the award of an Order of Australia medal.  Al's wife Val retired as the Foundation's secretary on 13 August 2011.  For many years, Val collated the applications for research grants for submission to the directors, organised the Foundation's annual presentation dinner and undertook much of the behind the scenes work which helped keep both Al and the Foundation performing at their peak.

It is very gratifying to find that whenever there are reports on medical research in the media, the chances are high that the researcher is someone who has received at least one grant from the Foundation.  

The Board of Directors is dedicated to the continued growth of the income stream of the Foundation, through careful management of the property portfolio and where possible, the diversification of assets to ensure that these aims are met.