Grants Guide

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund’s overall grantmaking strategy is to support biomedical scientists at the beginning of their careers and to make grants in areas of science that are poised for significant advance and but currently undervalued and underfunded. Within this overall strategy, BWF makes grants within six focus areas:

Infectious Disease

Interfaces in Science

Medical Sciences

Population and Laboratory Based Sciences

Science Education

Translational Research

BWF has programs which support primary and secondary students and academic scientists: postdoctoral-faculty bridging awards, and faculty awards. Population and Laboratory Based Sciences provides support to institutions.

The majority of the BWF ’s grantmaking is through competitive award programs. Most awards are made to degree-granting institutions in the United States and Canada on behalf of individual researchers, who must be nominated by their institution. All institutions receiving awards must be tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organizations.

To apply for the competitive award programs, select the program above and follow the guidelines and application requirements in the program brochure.

To complement these competitive award programs, we also make modest grants on an "ad hoc" basis to nonprofit organizations conducting activities intended to improve the general environment for science. These noncompetitive grants are for activities closely related to our focus areas identified above. We place special priority on working with non-profit organizations, including government agencies, to leverage financial support for our targeted areas of research, and on encouraging other foundations to support biomedical research.

Proposals should be brief and include a description of the focus of the activity, the expected outcomes, qualifications of the organization or individuals involved; provide certification of the sponsor's Internal Revenue Service tax-exempt status; and give the total budget for the activity, including any financial support obtained or promised. Proposals are given careful preliminary review, and those deemed appropriate are presented for consideration by BWF's Board of Directors.