They Often Hold the Key to Medical Breakthroughs. Who's Backing Physician-Scientists?

They Often Hold the Key to Medical Breakthroughs. Who's Backing Physician-Scientists?

It takes extensive training and the right personality to both treat patients and conduct scientific research. There’s been growing concern about the dwindling supply of physicians who do both. This foundation is on the case.

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Where Most Donors Fear to Tread: A Gift for the Nascent Field of Cannabis Research

Where Most Donors Fear to Tread: A Gift for the Nascent Field of Cannabis Research

Donors have been reluctant to fund cannabis research on an extensive scale. Recent developments, however, suggest this dynamic may soon change—with major upsides for universities.

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Dept. of Existential Threats: Who's Worried About Superbugs?

Dept. of Existential Threats: Who's Worried About Superbugs?

A group of heavy hitters, now including the Gates Foundation, are backing a research effort to ensure that global health systems aren’t outflanked by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The stakes could hardly be higher.

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The Sweetest Funding Gig for Biomedical Researchers Just Got Even Sweeter

The Sweetest Funding Gig for Biomedical Researchers Just Got Even Sweeter

HHMI’s Investigator program—already legendary for its flexible, long-term streams of funding—has now outdone itself, bumping up the period that it supports researchers to seven years. What’s behind this move?

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Head and Heart: An Unusual Partnership to Break New Ground in Biomedical Research

Head and Heart: An Unusual Partnership to Break New Ground in Biomedical Research

Foundations and research groups increasingly see out-of-the-box collaborations as holding the key to faster medical breakthroughs. Which explains why a top brain funder and heart organization are teaming up.

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A Foundation for Breakthroughs: Behind a Quest to Map Every Cell in the Human Body

A Foundation for Breakthroughs: Behind a Quest to Map Every Cell in the Human Body

CZI is playing the long game with its health science funding. Its latest boost to the Human Cell Atlas project seeks to create the framework for global cooperative research for decades to come.

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A Health Funder Puts Women of Color Front and Center of Latest Work

A Health Funder Puts Women of Color Front and Center of Latest Work

Women of color are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and the harsh practices of the criminal justice system. Now, this group is getting new help around these issues from a top funder in California.

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Grants to Tackle a Difficult—But Unavoidable—Issue: End-of-Life Care

Grants to Tackle a Difficult—But Unavoidable—Issue: End-of-Life Care

Despite a fast-aging population and growing strains on healthcare entitlements, only a limited number of funders are looking at ways our society can better manage how people die. Still, some money is flowing.

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A Newcomer with a Famous Name Steps Up for HIV/AIDS Funding in the American South

A Newcomer with a Famous Name Steps Up for HIV/AIDS Funding in the American South

The Aileen Getty Foundation has joined two high-profile grantmakers making waves on the HIV/AIDS funding scene in the Southern states. Who’s winning grants from this new collaboration?

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This Powerhouse Funder is Still New to Scientific Research. Where Are Grants Going?

This Powerhouse Funder is Still New to Scientific Research. Where Are Grants Going?

The Open Philanthropy Project is now moving $100 million in grants a year, so it's a big deal that its research funding has finally been getting up to speed after a long gestation. Here's a peek. 

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The Latest Move By a Public-Private Partnership That Aims to "Transform" Medicine

The Latest Move By a Public-Private Partnership That Aims to "Transform" Medicine

The NIH's Accelerating Medicines Partnership, which launched in 2014, is bringing together different sectors in new ways. Now, it's teaming up with the Michael J. Fox Foundation on Parkinson's. 

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The Latest Funder Tackling Disparities To Improve Health Outcomes

The Latest Funder Tackling Disparities To Improve Health Outcomes

The philanthropic arm of a pharmaceutical company branches out from its usual focus on diseases to look at the social determinants of health with a new gift and funding stream. 

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A Research Funder Knocks on the NIH's Door Looking for Ideas—And Big Grants Flow

A Research Funder Knocks on the NIH's Door Looking for Ideas—And Big Grants Flow

The Open Philanthropy Project has been feeling out different approaches for its nascent science program. One interesting RFP sent $11 million to a handful of applicants the NIH had to turn away.

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House Call: How One Funder is Helping Parkinson’s Patients Get the Care They Need

House Call: How One Funder is Helping Parkinson’s Patients Get the Care They Need

While the days of doctors making house calls are long gone, one couple is trying to bring the practice back for Parkinson’s patients, who can end up homebound and unable to get the treatment they need. 

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Which Funders Are on the Front Lines in the Fight Against Diabetes?

Which Funders Are on the Front Lines in the Fight Against Diabetes?

While you might think that a lot of major health funders would be focused on diabetes, that's not really the case. On the upside, some of the foundations that are paying attention have very deep pockets.

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True Believers: A Controversial Campus Donation and the Brave New World of Mega-Giving

True Believers: A Controversial Campus Donation and the Brave New World of Mega-Giving

Critics worry that a $200 million donation for alternative medicine from a tech billionaire and his wife will tar UC Irvine's Medical School as a haven for quacks. But the gift raises larger questions. 

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The Quiet Yet Powerful Pass-Through Funder Making Big Moves on Breast Cancer

The Quiet Yet Powerful Pass-Through Funder Making Big Moves on Breast Cancer

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation is a great example of how funding intermediaries keep gaining momentum, wielding new resources and clout, especially when it comes to medical research. 

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Which Foundation Is Taking the Lead on Sickle Cell Disease?

Which Foundation Is Taking the Lead on Sickle Cell Disease?

Sickle cell disease affects millions of people worldwide and is the most common inherited blood disorder in the U.S., but few funders prioritize finding a cure. Here's a major exception.

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Fast Forward: What a Big Gift for Life Sciences Research Means for This University

Fast Forward: What a Big Gift for Life Sciences Research Means for This University

In what's becoming a familiar trend, a gift to Boston University finds a billionaire donor trying to propel his alma mater to the upper echelons of the American university research system with a stroke of a pen.

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Looking Upstream: A Funder Collaborative Goes Local to Address the Roots of Health

Looking Upstream: A Funder Collaborative Goes Local to Address the Roots of Health

More than 95 percent of healthcare spending goes to direct medical services, but 70 percent of health outcomes can be tied to social determinants. A group of funders wants to change that dynamic. 

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