The Boston University Foundation Relations team, within the Office of Advancement, helps faculty identify, apply for, secure, and steward charitable gifts and grants from private philanthropic foundations and nongovernmental organizations. We match faculty research and programs with foundations’ priorities, which are often to support pilot projects and high-risk research that may not be attractive to traditional funders such as NIH and NSF. Additional details about how we work can be found in this overview.
“They were a GREAT addition to the process: proactive, professional, detail oriented, rapidly responsive, friendly, and accommodating….In short, they were a key member of our submission team. Truth be told, I am not 100% sure that we would have made the submission deadline without them.”
—Thomas Gilmore, PhD, Professor, Biology
Hundreds of foundation programs are focused on early-career faculty. Their funding can be highly beneficial, helping to seed a new project, confirm proof of concept, or generate pilot data. In contrast to federal funders, private funders are more willing to support high-risk, high-reward projects.
foundation support to BU in FY25
proposals the Foundation Relations team helped faculty submit in FY25
“Meet the Funder” events organized by the Foundation Relations team over past four years
Numerous faculty members from across the University receive foundation support. Here are a few recent examples.
Dr. Lyons will receive $100,000/year for up to two years for their project “Exploiting Weak Spot in How Viruses Operate to Combat Severe Respiratory Infections”. The program was designed to gain a better understanding of the pathobiology and the immediate and long-term implications of respiratory infections.
Dr. Raslan received the award for their project, “Targeting Lung Capillary Endothelial Cells to Halt the Progression of Lung Fibrosis.” The award provides $50,000/year for up to two years for mentored early career scientists ascending toward independence, this award provides seed monies to junior investigators for researching the mechanisms and biology of interstitial lung disease.
Liangliang Hao (ENG) wins for their project “Developing Innovative Early Detection Test for IPF" and Ignaty Leshchiner wins for their project, “Predicting When Lung Cancer Will Return.” The ALA Innovation Award provides $75,000/year for up to two years, and is geared toward independent investigators who are conducting basic science, behavioral, clinical or translational research in […]
Sandage, the Albert and Jessie Danielsen Professor of Psychology of Religion & Theology, and his team recently received a $5.2 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation to fund an initiative on training psychotherapists to incorporate these ideas and new training and treatment research into their practices. Led by Sandage and Jesse Owen, a professor at the University […]
CBR team members Dr. Swathi Kiran and Madeline Dunne will be providing infrastructural support to conduct this research in coordination with project lead Maura Silverman, Executive Director of the NAA, and fellow collaborator Dr. Jacqueline Hinckley, from NSU.
Diana Anderson, MD, M.Arch, assistant professor of neurology at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, has received a $270,418 grant from the Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation for her project “Investigating the Relationship between Nursing Home Architecture and Health Outcomes.” The two-year grant is through the foundation’s Another Look program and […]
The five-year initiative, co-led by Rev. Dr. Anastasia Kidd and Dr. Chad D. Moore, will strengthen partnerships among local congregations, clergy, and seminary leaders, addressing contemporary challenges facing pastors and seminarians while developing new models of ministry formation.
The prestigious $450,000 award from the Alzheimer's Association comes in support of Dr. McKee's acceleration of research on CTE and dementia.
Here are some events