A Foundation’s Long Quest to Take on Huntington’s Disease Picks Up Speed

A Foundation’s Long Quest to Take on Huntington’s Disease Picks Up Speed

The neurodegenerative disease gets less funder attention than other more common conditions, which is why a set of new $1 million research grants from the Hereditary Disease Foundation could really move the needle.

Read More

Backed By Sergey Brin, the Newest Force in Parkinson's Research Looks to Speed Cures

Backed By Sergey Brin, the Newest Force in Parkinson's Research Looks to Speed Cures

Aligning Science Across Parkinson's, established by the Google cofounder, wants to diversify genetic research into the neurodegenerative disease. Its latest big grant will expand the geographic scope of a key international study.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

A Big Gift to UC San Diego is the Latest Philanthropic Push to Better Understand Psychedelics

A Big Gift to UC San Diego is the Latest Philanthropic Push to Better Understand Psychedelics

Psychedelics show great promise in a range of medical therapies, but legal constraints and stigma have kept public funding minimal. As a result, philanthropy remains crucial to advancing research. Here’s the latest gift.

Read More

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.

Read More

This Under-the-Radar Foundation Backs Medical Research. But There’s a Dark Side to Its Story

This Under-the-Radar Foundation Backs Medical Research. But There’s a Dark Side to Its Story

The Larry L. Hillblom Foundation funds research to cure diabetes and the degenerative diseases of aging. It was founded after the death of its eponymous original donor, about whom disturbing revelations emerged.

Read More

A Major Gift for Alzheimer's at a Pivotal Time for the Development of Treatments

A Major Gift for Alzheimer's at a Pivotal Time for the Development of Treatments

The Lauder family, with wealth from the cosmetics dynasty, is a top supporter of Alzheimer's research. We take a closer look at a recent $200 million commitment for drug development and philanthropy’s role in the field.

Read More

CZI’s Grant for Diversity in Neuroscience is a Positive Development. Is it Part of a Larger Trend?

CZI’s Grant for Diversity in Neuroscience is a Positive Development. Is it Part of a Larger Trend?

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative is backing an effort to diversify the neuroscience field and the people participating in research on brain disorders. Is more such funding on the way?

Read More

What We Learned From a Deep Dive into Neuroscience Research Giving

What We Learned From a Deep Dive into Neuroscience Research Giving

We recently published an in-depth paper on trends in neuroscience research funding as part of IP’s State of American Philanthropy project. Author Mike Scutari takes a look at some of the report’s key findings.

Read More

How a Grantmaker Focused on Rare Diseases Galvanizes Critical Research and Patient Support

How a Grantmaker Focused on Rare Diseases Galvanizes Critical Research and Patient Support

Over 25 million Americans live with rare diseases, and 90% of rare diseases do not have an FDA-approved treatment. We look at how the National Organization for Rare Disorders is moving the needle in this evolving field.

Read More

A Funding Leader Lays Out Key Priorities in Neuromuscular Disease Research

A Funding Leader Lays Out Key Priorities in Neuromuscular Disease Research

The Chicago-based Muscular Dystrophy Association is a leading funder in the field of neuromuscular diseases. We check in with Chief Research Officer Dr. Sharon Hesterlee to discuss current challenges and priorities.

Read More

As Americans Grow Older, These Funders are Advancing the Field of Cognitive Aging Research

As Americans Grow Older, These Funders are Advancing the Field of Cognitive Aging Research

Millions will experience the effects of cognitive decline without being diagnosed with a neurological disease. Two prominent funders of cognitive aging research share how they are working to overcome this challenge.

Read More

This Research Funder Is on a Mission to Cure — and Destigmatize — Epilepsy

This Research Funder Is on a Mission to Cure — and Destigmatize — Epilepsy

CURE Epilepsy funds research to cure and more effectively treat a neurological condition that affects 3.4 million Americans. Part of that mission involves ending the silence that still surrounds epilepsy.

Read More

“A Period of Rapid Change.” How the ALS Association Shepherded a New Treatment to Market

“A Period of Rapid Change.” How the ALS Association Shepherded a New Treatment to Market

The FDA recently approved a new drug to treat ALS. Here’s how the ALS Association, equipped with funding from 2014’s viral Ice Bucket Challenge, contributed to that outcome — and what it’s looking to do next.

Read More

“Explore the Gaps.” A Closer Look at the Kavli Foundation’s Neuroscience Grantmaking

“Explore the Gaps.” A Closer Look at the Kavli Foundation’s Neuroscience Grantmaking

The Kavli Foundation is one of philanthropy’s most impactful supporters of neuroscience research. We check with Life Sciences Director Amy Bernard about the funder’s grantmaking priorities and an emerging area of focus.

Read More

Of Mice and Men: How Paul Allen's Giving Set the Stage for an Ambitious Effort to Map the Human Brain

Of Mice and Men: How Paul Allen's Giving Set the Stage for an Ambitious Effort to Map the Human Brain

Twenty years ago, Paul Allen's Institute for Brain Science launched with a project to map the mouse brain. Now, the NIH has tapped the institute to manage a global collaboration to map the human brain.

Read More

Taking on Paralysis, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Seeks to "Care and Cure"

Taking on Paralysis, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation Seeks to "Care and Cure"

Once viewed as the “graveyard of neuroscience,” the field of spinal cord injury has made headway thanks to the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. We check in with two leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities.

Read More

Why Three Deep-Pocketed Funders Joined Forces to Take on Bipolar Disorder

Why Three Deep-Pocketed Funders Joined Forces to Take on Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder has been significantly understudied. In response, several donors with personal experience of the condition are working with the Milken Institute on a $150 million initiative to fund and coordinate global research.

Read More

Seven Questions for Stephen Quake, the New Head of Science at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

Seven Questions for Stephen Quake, the New Head of Science at Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative recently named Stanford Professor Stephen Quake as its new head of science. We spoke about his new role leading CZI's ambitious mission to treat all human disease within the century.

Read More