French entrepreneur and industrialist Jean Leducq, together with his wife Sylviane, created the Leducq Foundation in Paris, France in 1996. Having strong ties in both Europe and in North America, the Leducqs decided to position the foundation to support internationally collaborative research in cardiovascular disease and stroke, targeting initially investigators from the two continents where they had lived and worked. The first Leducq grants in cardiovascular research were awarded in 1999 under an individual investigator program. In 2003 the Leducq Foundation introduced the Transatlantic Networks of Excellence, a program designed to promote collaborative research among cardiovascular and stroke investigators in North America. Under this program, researchers from around the world can pool their efforts and resources to focus on a single, important topic in order to advance science of cardiovascular disease and stroke, and to turn those advance towards improving human health. As of 2023, the Leducq Foundation has supported 77 international networks. The Leducq networks program has now expanded from its initial focus on North America and Europe to include investigators worldwide.