The Boston University Foundation Relations team, within the Office of Development & Alumni Relations, 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.
“Without the help of Foundation Relations, none of these projects would have happened. They tirelessly sought out funding opportunities. Once a grant was secured, they made it their personal mission to make sure that we kept in good standing with the foundation and continued to receive funding year after year.”
—Casey Taft, PhD, Professor, Psychiatry
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.
For more on the impact of foundation support to BU, see this report.
foundation support to BU in FY23
proposals and LOIs the Foundation Relations team helped faculty submit in FY23
“Meet the Funder” events organized by the Foundation Relations team over past three years
Numerous faculty members from across the University receive foundation support. Here are a few recent examples.
Ahmad (Mo) Khalil, professor of biomedical engineering, leads the $1.5 million-funded project, which could result in improvements in cell therapies by streamlining the engineering of mammalian cells.
Florian Douam, PhD, assistant professor of virology, immunology, and microbiology, and Jessica L. Fetterman, assistant professor of medicine, were both selected to receive $400,000 for basic science research.
Michelle Teplensky, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, received an Individual Biomedical Research Award from the Hartwell Foundation to develop a vaccine targeting illnesses caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria.
The fellowship will support Dr. Fulweiler in creating a research program in data science focused on coastal systems, which will lead to the creation of a data-driven taxonomy for coastal environments.
Led by Cristian De La Rosa, Associate Dean for Students and Community Life, the Nurturing Immigrant Children's Faith Experiences En Familia Program will encourage children and teens to engage in their worship and prayer contexts.
Dr. Pratt proposed a novel method for the more effective and less invasive detection of tumor activity. She was one of seven innovative researchers in cancer, immunology, and neuroscience selected for the prestigious award.
The two-day event, led by the Center for Brain Recovery, the Neurophotonics Center, and the Rafiki B Hariri Center for Computing, brought together over 450 attendees from 25 countries.
Dr. Anderson, whose research has previously demonstrated the medical impact of the built space of healthcare environments, will seek to improve the physical design of long-term care facilities.