A Public-Private Cancer Funder Backs Team Science and Targets Inequities in Care and Outcomes

A Public-Private Cancer Funder Backs Team Science and Targets Inequities in Care and Outcomes

Cancer Grand Challenges has announced $125 million across five new grants to take on key questions in cancer research and to better understand causes of poorer health outcomes for certain patient populations.

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A Huge Gift to Cut Medical School Tuition Looks to Make a Dent in a Deep Systemic Problem

A Huge Gift to Cut Medical School Tuition Looks to Make a Dent in a Deep Systemic Problem

Crushing medical school debt has been contributing to a shortage of physicians and steering doctors away from needed but lower-paid specialties. A $1 billion gift will make tuition free at a New York med school.

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A Family Foundation’s Refreshingly Accessible Approach to Funding Research and Education

A Family Foundation’s Refreshingly Accessible Approach to Funding Research and Education

Established in 2001 by investing legend Gary Brinson, the Chicago-based Brinson Foundation focuses on education and scientific research. We take a closer look at this uniquely transparent and accessible family foundation. 

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How CZI’s Tech Team Builds New Tools to Unlock Advances in Biomedical Research

How CZI’s Tech Team Builds New Tools to Unlock Advances in Biomedical Research

One unique feature of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is that it not only funds biomedical research, it employs a team of specialists to build new technology that can accelerate that research. Here’s how it works.

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Can Philanthropy and Government Work Together to Drive Socially Responsible Tech?

Can Philanthropy and Government Work Together to Drive Socially Responsible Tech?

Five philanthropies are partnering with the National Science Foundation to advance the field of public interest technology — hopefully spurring the idea that public wellbeing must be a key element in tech development.

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How the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Is Working to Ensure Equitable Access to Care

How the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Is Working to Ensure Equitable Access to Care

A top priority for cancer research funders is ensuring that patients receive equitable and timely access to treatment and care. We check in with a leading advocate and grantmaker to see how it’s approaching this work.

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How Two Bioscience Funding Giants are Partnering to Advance Synthetic Biology Research

How Two Bioscience Funding Giants are Partnering to Advance Synthetic Biology Research

The Allen Institute and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative teamed up with the University of Washington to pioneer a new generation of research tools with the ability to record the life and times of individual human cells.

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The Biggest XPRIZE Yet Seeks Therapies that Roll Back the Depredations of Aging

The Biggest XPRIZE Yet Seeks Therapies that Roll Back the Depredations of Aging

XPRIZE Foundation, the organization known for multimillion-dollar competitions to solve global problems, has announced its biggest purse ever — $101 million to develop therapies that keep us healthier, longer.

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A Major Bequest Finally Puts the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence on Solid Financial Ground

A Major Bequest Finally Puts the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence on Solid Financial Ground

The SETI Institute has been looking for extraterrestrial life for 40 years, often with limited support. Now, a $200 million bequest from Qualcomm cofounder Franklin Antonio has given it some much-needed breathing room.

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Paul Allen's Philanthropic Legacy Continues with Funding for a Brand-New Field of Health Research

Paul Allen's Philanthropic Legacy Continues with Funding for a Brand-New Field of Health Research

The late Microsoft co-founder’s Paul G. Allen Frontiers Group has launched its newest Discovery Center. Its goal: exploring how the human nervous system and immune system interact to shape health and disease.

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Starting With a Big Boost for Rare Disease Research, This Couple Are Ramping Up Their Giving

Starting With a Big Boost for Rare Disease Research, This Couple Are Ramping Up Their Giving

Mike and Sofia Segal came to the U.S. in 1978 from Ukraine with $120 and built a fortune in the electric power industry. Now, they're rolling out a set of big donations, starting with a $17 million gift to fight a rare blood cancer.

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How Dalio Philanthropies' OceanX is Working to Diversify Marine Research and Teaching

How Dalio Philanthropies' OceanX is Working to Diversify Marine Research and Teaching

In the past year, this research nonprofit has expanded efforts to diversify ocean science through new educational partnerships with HBCUs Spelman College and Howard University — with more set to come.

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After Nearly a Century Funding Science, the Sloan Foundation Is Searching for Answers Near and Far

After Nearly a Century Funding Science, the Sloan Foundation Is Searching for Answers Near and Far

We checked in with the president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, one of the country's longest-running backers of science, math, economics and technology, to learn about the foundation's wide-ranging mix of interests.

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A Look at How the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Backs Biomedical Researchers

A Look at How the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Backs Biomedical Researchers

Spun out of the Wellcome Trust, the U.S.-based Burroughs Wellcome Fund continues to sharpen its focus around diversity and equity in research, supporting early-career scientists, and more.

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Why This Texas Billionaire Is Giving Big for Biodiversity Science in the Lone Star State

Why This Texas Billionaire Is Giving Big for Biodiversity Science in the Lone Star State

Low-key philanthropist Stephen Winn, a Dallas-based investor and tech businessman, and his family have committed $50 million to help the University of Texas at Austin sharply expand ecology and climate research in the state.

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As It Shifts Strategies, the Kavli Foundation’s Zeroing in on How Climate Change Affects the Brain

As It Shifts Strategies, the Kavli Foundation’s Zeroing in on How Climate Change Affects the Brain

Continuing its strategic shift, the veteran science funder has launched another new program. The aim is to address an underappreciated aspect of climate change: how it affects the neural systems of humans and animals.

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A Local Foundation, a Little-Known College, and a Potential HIV and Cancer Breakthrough

A Local Foundation, a Little-Known College, and a Potential HIV and Cancer Breakthrough

The Engelstad Foundation supported Touro University Nevada's lone biomedical lab when few other funders would. A recent discovery there could lead to new treatments for HIV, and even cancer, Alzheimer’s and more.

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AI for the Planet: How One of the World's Biggest Tech Firms Is Backing AI-Powered Climate Science

AI for the Planet: How One of the World's Biggest Tech Firms Is Backing AI-Powered Climate Science

Google.org is putting artificial intelligence at the center of its current efforts to foster innovation in climate research. It’s something of a return to form for a corporate funder that previously focused heavily on COVID response.

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Big Changes Underway at Kavli, Starting With a Program to Aid Scholars Escaping Global Strife

Big Changes Underway at Kavli, Starting With a Program to Aid Scholars Escaping Global Strife

For decades, the bulk of the Kavli Foundation's funding went to establishing scientific institutes with multimillion-dollar endowments. Now, a new president is reshaping the science funder's strategy.

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Moved by a Schizophrenia Diagnosis, This Family Is Channeling Millions Toward Mental Health

Moved by a Schizophrenia Diagnosis, This Family Is Channeling Millions Toward Mental Health

Shari and Garen Staglin’s son Brandon began showing symptoms of schizophrenia as a teen. Today, he’s president of One Mind, which backs mental health, and the family is raising serious funds for research and more.

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