(Adds details Picower-funded organizations, paragraphs 8-10)

CHICAGO, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The Picower Foundation, a charity that supports programs ranging from medical research to education, said it was shutting down because of losses from investments with Bernard Madoff.

The foundation's assets, which were listed at more than $1 billion, were managed by Madoff, the fund manager accused in a $50 billion fraud.

"This act of fraud has had a devastating impact on tens of thousands of lives as well as numerous philanthropic foundations and nonprofit organizations," foundation President Barbara Picower said in a statement on Friday.

"We deeply regret that in such a harsh economic climate, we will be unable to support the profoundly important programs and organizations that have helped us further the Foundation's mission."

Madoff, who was arrested on Dec. 11, is accused of running a global Ponzi scheme, where earlier investors are paid off with investments of newer clients. The fund manager was put under 24-hour detention in his Manhattan apartment.

The scam has affected businesses and charities around the world.

Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, has written off a $20 million investment it made with Madoff Securities, according to a letter from Lawrence Bacow, president of the university.

The investment accounted for less than 2 percent of the university's endowment, Bacow said.