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The Dana Foundation has been a key backer of neuroscience research for four decades. But as the field increasingly impacts broader society, the foundation wants to ensure that the science steers toward the public good.
There’s not a huge amount of funding for excavations and other research into human history and prehistory, but a handful of funders do back this work. Here are some foundations digging up the secrets of our past.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Artificial intelligence is on everyone’s mind now, but philanthropy has been boosting research or bracing for its implications for some time. Here are the major funders involved in the field.
Birds, bats, bees and other insects play an integral role in global food systems, biodiversity and climate. This membership-based organization and its foundation are working to protect and restore pollinators.
Among non-communicable diseases, diabetes has a particularly low profile as a global health concern. The Helmsley Charitable Trust has made it a central focus, including two recent commitments to the WHO.
The Russell Sage Foundation's Pipeline Grants Competition, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, promotes the careers of diverse academics who study economic opportunity, equality and social mobility.
Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s ocean science outfit has been helping scientists study the sea since 2009. The organization recently launched an advanced new science vessel, and it's free to scientists.
To build up collaborative research infrastructure, a landmark $100 million gift from businessman Gene Lay will launch a new institute spanning Brigham and Women's Hospital, Mass General and Harvard Medical School.
Humans are living longer, but in our later years, we become more vulnerable to injury and age-related diseases. Wellcome Leap and the Singapore-based Temasek Trust are funding a new program to extend “healthspans.”
A $260 million gift from the Lord Foundation of California to USC seeded a billion-dollar, campus-wide effort to reshape technology research and teaching. It’s part of a unique windfall of funds that boosted four universities.
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.
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?