Community leaders Czarina and Humberto Lopez recently committed to give $3 million to support cardiovascular research at the Sarver Heart Center at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson.   

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The gift will create the Czarina and Humberto Lopez Cardiovascular Research Endowment, which will fund research to advance cardiovascular medicine through education, research and patient care. 

"On behalf of all of us at the College of Medicine – Tucson, I would like to thank Czarina and Bert for their continued generosity," said Dr. Michael M.I. Abecassis, who was named the inaugural Humberto and Czarina Lopez Endowed Dean of the College of Medicine – Tucson as part of a $5 million gift from the Lopezes in 2023. "Their support of the college and of the Sarver Heart Center embodies their altruistic commitment to helping the college fulfill the tripartite mission of education, research and patient care."

The Lopezes' $3 million gift goes toward the Sarver Heart Center's goal of raising $75 million to build an institutionally designated cardiovascular research institute, pending approval by the Arizona Board of Regents. Plans for the cardiovascular research institute, in partnership with Banner – University Medical Center Tucson, include providing researchers with significant new resources to explore ways to maintain heart health and to prevent, diagnose and treat cardiovascular disease.

The couple's affiliation with the Sarver Heart Center is made more personal by Czarina Lopez's experience as a heart and kidney transplant recipient. While she had the transplants at another medical center, she has been a patient at the Sarver Heart Center.

"We're very close to the Sarver Heart Center. Whenever there's a need, we step up," said Humberto "Bert" Lopez, a 1969 graduate of the U of A Eller College of Management and owner of HSL Properties, Arizona's largest owner-operated property company, which he co-founded. "We've got the right people in place, and I think the programs we establish are going to be very successful." 

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Dr. Hesham Sadek, director of the Sarver Heart Center and professor and chief of the Division of Cardiology at the College of Medicine – Tucson Department of Medicine, will steward the funds as part of the Sarver Heart Center's long-term research strategy.

"We are so grateful to Czarina and Bert Lopez for this gift, which is an outstanding example of how individuals can make a lasting impact in the field of health care and directly contribute to improving the lives of others," Sadek said. "This generous gift is instrumental in helping us pursue our vision of making the Sarver Heart Center one of the top heart centers worldwide."

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2022, more than 700,000 people in the U.S. died from heart disease, which is the equivalent of 1 in every 5 deaths. Globally, heart disease was responsible for 17.9 million deaths in 2019, or more than 32% of all deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

More than 160 researchers and physician-scientists are working collaboratively at the Sarver Heart Center toward a future free of heart disease, vascular disease and stroke.

"Thanks to the philanthropy of Czarina and Bert, the Sarver Heart Center will have vital resources to lead the way in in the battle against cardiovascular disease," said Jennifer Barton, interim vice provost for health programs. "The gift will help some of the brightest minds in cardiovascular research address and solve critical health care issues, helping to build healthier communities for everyone."

This gift adds to the well-established philanthropic efforts of the Lopezes, who have given more than $20 million to the U of A. Their generosity includes a $2 million gift in 2021 that created the Czarina M. and Humberto S. Lopez Endowed Chair for Excellence in Cardiovascular Research at the Sarver Heart Center and support for the new home of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, which opened in 2024.

"I am grateful for Czarina and Bert's deep and personal commitment to supporting the U of A in so many ways, and am honored to call them friends," said John-Paul Roczniak, president and CEO of the University of Arizona Foundation. "The Lopezes embody the Bear Down spirit, and they have shown how much they care about not only the university and the community, but all those whose lives will be touched by research outcomes from the Sarver Heart Center."

Thanks to the generosity of another donor, a challenge gift has been committed to support the project with a match of $25 million when the college raises $50 million over five years. The Lopezes $3 million will help the college meet the fundraising commitment requirement for the first year of the challenge gift. 

The gift also is part of the Fuel Wonder campaign, the university's $3 billion fundraising effort. Gifts already made to the campaign are giving every student access to a cohesive ecosystem of support, powering new insights into the human immunome and transforming research in areas including cancer, engineering, space sciences and the humanities.