Medical and Scientific Project Grants FAQs

Previous Medical and Scientific Project Grants Awarded

Collaborations

Previous Medical and Scientific Project Grants Awarded

2005 Medical and Scientific Project Grants

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research: $25,000
www.camradvocacy.org
The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) was formed in 2001 as a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure that the full capability of the biomedical research workforce is directed toward bringing the remarkable potential of embryonic stem cells to fruition. CAMR's membership is that of nationally recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with life-threatening diseases and disorders. It advocates the advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in regenerative medicine, including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer ("SCNT", commonly called "therapeutic cloning") in order to cure disease and alleviate suffering. This grant will support CAMR's core activities for the next three years.
Why we supported: Funding of stem cell research and the continued legality of therapeutic cloning holds the promise of saving the lives of millions of Americans suffering from illnesses including Alzheimer's disease, ALS, heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injury and diabetes. Joining other highly regarded groups in this coalition helps to ensure the most effective allocation of philanthropic dollars to address health/medical issues and encourages critical research. CAMR is a prior grantee.

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2004 Medical and Scientific Project Grants

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research: $30,000
www.camradvocacy.org
The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) was formed in March 2001 as a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure that the full capability of the biomedical research workforce is directed toward bringing the remarkable potential of embryonic stem cells to fruition. CAMR's membership is that of nationally recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with life-threatening diseases and disorders. It advocates the advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in regenerative medicine, including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer ("SCNT", commonly called "therapeutic cloning") in order to cure disease and alleviate suffering. This grant will support CAMR's core activities for 2004. CAMR is a prior grantee.
Why we supported: Funding of stem cell research and the continued legality of therapeutic cloning holds the promise of saving the lives of millions of Americans suffering from illnesses including Alzheimer's disease, ALS, heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injury and diabetes. Joining other highly regarded groups in this coalition helps to ensure the most effective allocation of philanthropic dollars to address health/medical issues and encourages critical research.

Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF): $100,000
www.glaucoma.org
This one-year grant represents additional funding for the three-year partnership between GRF and the Kirsch Foundation that funds a collaborative research endeavor: Catalyst for a Cure (CFC). This supplemental grant will be used to expand the recently-established centralized breeding facility for the glaucoma rodent model, as well as to restructure the flow of tissue, reagents, data and informatics with the addition of three additional core facilities and staff: a histopathology core, a microarray core, and a genomics core.
Why we supported: The CFC partnership charges a group of researchers with the goal of finding a cure for glaucoma, one of the degenerative eye diseases that is of particular interest to the Kirsch Foundation. In the first two years, the researchers have generated a wealth of valuable and new information. These core facilities, as well as expansion of activities at the current mouse breeding facility, will increase the speed with which the researchers can analyze the data and move toward a breakthrough.

Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy: $14,000
www.jscpp.org
The Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy (JSC) is a consortium of four medical membership organizations: The American Society for Cell Biology, the American Society for Biochemistry, the Genetics Society of America, and the Society for Neuroscience. The organizations formed the JSC because they realized that, 95% of the time, they agree on specific policy issues and that they could be more effective in presenting their positions if they coordinated efforts. This grant will purchase a license and first year's usage fee for "CapWiz," an online portal that is considered state-of-the-art for informing and activating grassroots groups around the country. CapWiz will allow JSC to more effectively activate its member base in support of legislation legalizing the use of human embryonic stem cells.
Why we supported: Support of JSC's member base activation complements our policy, advocacy and funding commitment to stem cell research and therapeutic cloning initiatives.

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2003 Medical and Scientific Project Grants

American Society for Cell Biology: $8,000
www.ascb.org
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) was founded in 1961 to bring the varied facets of cell biology together. The organization's objective is to provide for the exchange of scientific knowledge in the area of cell biology. It strives to ensure the future of basic scientific research by providing training and development opportunities for students and young investigators, and also by keeping Congress and the public informed on the importance of biomedical research. This grant will support ASCB's stem cell symposium at the ASCB annual meeting this year.
Why we supported: Support of this symposium complements our policy, advocacy and funding commitment to stem cell research and therapeutic cloning initiatives. The symposium is an appropriate forum for educating scientists about the current status of stem cell research. The reputation of ASCB and its leadership lend significant credibility at a national level to this discussion.

California Institute of Technology: $25,000
www.caltech.edu
This grant will fund Dr. Steven J. Ostro, a Senior Research Scientist at the NASA/CalTech Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, for analysis of radar investigations of Earth-approaching objects that, because of their sizes and orbits, are designated Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs). For more information on the asteroid radar research of Dr. Ostro, see http://echo.jpl.nasa.gov/.
Why we supported: The Foundation is committed to efforts to mitigate the threat of asteroids to Earth. Radar studies of PHAs offer vital and valuable information to refine vague predicted orbits and understand composition, shape and other important statistics that would be necessary for any type of mitigation efforts. This is an area that is under-funded, and the team at CalTech, led by Dr. Ostro, is viewed as the leader in this field.

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research: $30,000
www.camradvocacy.org
The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) was formed in March 2001 as a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure that the full capability of the biomedical research workforce is directed toward bringing the remarkable potential of embryonic stem cells to fruition. CAMR's membership is that of nationally recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with life-threatening diseases and disorders. It advocates the advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in regenerative medicine, including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer ("SCNT", commonly called "therapeutic cloning") in order to cure disease and alleviate suffering. This grant will support CAMR's core activities for 2003. CAMR is a prior grantee.
Why we supported: Funding of stem cell research and the continued legality of therapeutic cloning holds the promise of saving the lives of millions of Americans suffering from illnesses including Alzheimer's disease, ALS, heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injury and diabetes. Joining other highly regarded groups in this coalition helps to ensure the most effective allocation of philanthropic dollars to address health/medical issues and encourages critical research.

Glaucoma Research Foundation: $55,291
www.glaucoma.org
The Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) is the oldest national voluntary health agency dedicated to protecting the sight and independence of people with glaucoma. This two-year grant represents additional funding for the partnership between GRF and the Kirsch Foundation: Catalyst for a Cure (CFC). The additional funds will be used to establish a centralized breeding facility for the development of a rodent model for glaucoma. While the rodent model developed would initially provide animals to the CFC laboratories, the establishment of such a hybrid mouse is viewed as an important contribution that the consortium could provide to the greater glaucoma research community.
Why we supported: The CFC partnership charges a group of researchers with the goal of bringing a fresh outlook to finding a cure for glaucoma, one of the degenerative eye diseases that is of particular interest to the Kirsch Foundation. Creating a rodent model will help the CFC researchers towards this goal in the most effective and financially sound manner.

Minor Planet Center: $50,000
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/mpc.html
The Minor Planet Center is the central clearing house for asteroid and cometary observations made worldwide. Once a comet or asteroid is discovered, this Center determines an object's preliminary orbit and then may categorize it as a comet, a near-Earth asteroid or perhaps a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA). This grant will fund expanded staff hours for the Minor Planet Center through January 2004, as well as public awareness efforts relating to Near Earth Objects (NEOs) and PHAs and the Center's critical role in identifying these dangerous objects.
Why we supported: The Foundation is committed to reducing the threat of a cataclysmic asteroid impact. The Minor Planet Center is an integral part of the current system to identify and track such objects.

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2002 Medical and Scientific Project Grants

American Society for Cell Biology: $15,000
www.ascb.org
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) was founded in 1961 to bring the varied facets of cell biology together. The organization's objective is to provide for the exchange of scientific knowledge in the area of cell biology. It strives to ensure the future of basic scientific research by providing training and development opportunities for students and young investigators, and also by keeping Congress and the public informed on the importance of biomedical research. This grant will support ASCB's keynote symposium at the ASCB annual meeting entitled "Opportunities and Challenges in Cell Biology."
Why we supported: Support of this symposium complements our policy, advocacy and funding commitment to stem cell research and therapeutic cloning initiatives. The symposium is a visible, highly respected forum for educating scientists on the importance of effective policy activity and social impact of the latest research advances. Many Kirsch Foundation medical researchers are members of ASCB and will be in attendance. The reputation of ASCB and its leadership lend significant credibility at a national level to this discussion.

Catalyst for Hair Follicle Biology: $230,000
www.kirschfoundation.org/how/project/collaborative_hair_follicle.html
Established in December 2002, this two-year program totals $230,000 in funding and brings together two leading hair follicle biologists. The members are Angela Christian, Ph.D. (Columbia University, New York) and Colin Jahoda, Ph.D. (Durham University, England).
Why we supported: The original funding of Dr. Christiano's work was actively initiated by the Kirsch Foundation since it addresses a Foundation's funding priority: treatments and cures for baldness. Dr. Christiano has been successful in her research to date and this formal consortium project offers the potential to build upon the results that she and Dr. Colin Jahoda have achieved through their informal collaboration thus far. As a result of publicity about Dr. Jahoda's work, there have been a number of lucrative offers from commercial sources for him to market human hair loss "cures." Both Drs. Jahoda and Christiano, however, believe that developing the research for therapeutic purposes should be done on an independent scientific basis. Unfortunately, given that NIH considers this to be a 'cosmetic' problem few, if any, federal funds are available. We hope that by encouraging and supporting an effective collaboration, we will add real value to the work being conducted in the laboratories and send a positive message that can be leveraged into funding from other sources.

Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research: $30,000
www.camradvocacy.org
The Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research (CAMR) was formed in March 2001 as a 501(c)(4) organization to ensure that the full capability of the biomedical research workforce is directed toward bringing the remarkable potential of embryonic stem cells to fruition. CAMR's membership is that of nationally recognized patient organizations, universities, scientific societies, foundations, and individuals with life-threatening diseases and disorders. It advocates the advancement of breakthrough research and technologies in regenerative medicine, including stem cell research and somatic cell nuclear transfer ("SCNT", commonly called "therapeutic cloning") in order to cure disease and alleviate suffering. This grant will support CAMR's core activities for 2002.
Why we supported: Funding of stem cell research and the continued legality of therapeutic cloning holds the promise of saving the lives of millions of Americans suffering from illnesses including Alzheimer's disease, ALS, heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injury and diabetesJoining other highly regarded groups in this coalition helps to ensure the most effective allocation of philanthropic dollars to address health/medical issues and encourages critical research.

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2001 Medical and Scientific Project Grants

Academy for International Health Philanthropy: $25,000
The Academy for International Health Philanthropy (AIHP) was established in 1999 as an executive network for leading philanthropists to review and to optimize their collective impact on global health. It serves two main purposes:

1. To engage leading health philanthropists in a collective exploration of emerging global health priorities, and in the exploration of innovative methods for ensuring that their funds have an optimal impact upon global health issues.
   
2. To collectively achieve outcomes that would be unlikely if left to singular, yet well-intentioned, efforts.
   As its first effort, AIHP will hold an International Health Philanthropy Summit in London, England in May 2001.
   

Why we supported: The Kirsch Foundation is committed to the cure of major diseases and the funding of basic medical science that will lead to such cures. Through funding AIHP's new efforts, we hope to help individuals and organizations become proactive, educated donors in the broad international health arena, whether those donors are focused on community health, cures/treatments for diseases, and/or broad health policy issues.

American Society for Cell Biology: $38,000
www.ascb.org
American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) was founded in 1961 to bring the varied facets of cell biology together. The organization's objective is to provide for the exchange of scientific knowledge in the area of cell biology. It strives to ensure the future of basic scientific research by providing training and development opportunities for students and young investigators, and also by keeping Congress and the public informed on the importance of biomedical research.

The Foundation has made the following contributions to ASCB in 2001:

• $30,000 For support of a coalition of scientific, patient advocacy and university-based organizations that advocated for continued federal funding of embryonic stem cell and fetal tissue research, particularly during the time period leading up to the new policy that was unveiled in Summer 2001.
  
• $8,000 To support a special symposium on the "Science of Biological Warfare" to be held at the ASCB Annual Meeting in Washington DC, December 8-12, 2001.
  

Why we supported: Stem cell research impacts the lives of millions of Americans suffering from illnesses including Alzheimer's disease, ALS, heart disease, cancer, spinal cord injury and diabetes. Three out of four Americans supports federal funding of embryonic stem cell and fetal tissue research. Yet, during the first half of 2001, the Bush Administration considered the discontinuation of this funding in the U.S. - a serious and unprecedented threat to biomedical research. Joining other highly regarded groups in this coalition helped us ensure the most effective allocation of philanthropic dollars to address health/medical issues in the long term. Then, in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist incidents, we agreed to support a special ASCB "Science of Biological Warfare" symposium scheduled for December 2001. The time-sensitive issue of biological warfare has yet to be addressed in the scientific community. Strategic deployment of federal funds will rely on the ability of researchers to understand their role not only as potential recipients but as individuals called upon to review proposals and recommend use of available funds. The symposium complements our commitment to initiatives relating to the reduction of the threat from weapons of mass destruction and the future of US security. The $8,000 grant to ASCB reflects its national reputation and its ability to bring scientists together on this issue.

Glaucoma Research Foundation: $575,000
www.glaucoma.org
The Glaucoma Research Foundation (GRF) is the oldest national voluntary health agency dedicated to protecting the sight and independence of people with glaucoma. This three-year grant funds one-half of the partnership between GRF and the Kirsch Foundation: Catalyst for a Cure (CFC). The objective of CFC is to assemble and support a consortium of scientists - with expertise and the potential for new insights – to use recent breakthroughs in neuroscience, molecular biology and genetics to identify and answer key questions about the causes and mechanisms that lead to the development of glaucoma in the hope of preventing and/or curing it.
Why we supported: We have adopted a new, proactive strategy for funding medical and scientific research. This grant represents that new initiative: focusing on collaborations within the foundation (grantmaking) and research communities simultaneously. The CFC partnership charges a group of researchers with the goal of bringing a fresh outlook to finding a cure for glaucoma, one of the degenerative eye diseases that is of particular interest to the Kirsch Foundation.

University of Arizona/Spacewatch: $100,000
www.lpl.arizona.edu/spacewatch/
Spacewatch, located on the University of Arizona campus at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, explores the various populations of small objects in the solar system and studies the statistics of asteroids and comets. This grant continues support for Spacewatch's project of discovering Near Earth Objects (NEOs).
Why we supported: The Foundation is committed to identifying asteroids and Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that can potentially threaten the Earth as we know it. Spacewatch is a prior grantee of the Kirsch Foundation.

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2000 Medical and Scientific Project Grants

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1999 Medical and Scientific Project Grants

Alpha Space Fund: $1,000
www.gwi.net/asf
The Alpha Space Fund is committed to defusing the threat imposed by objects from space. The long-term objective of the group is to aid the construction of a space settlement.
Why we supported: This support helped sponsor an information booth at an Alpha Space Fund public event.

Mars Society: $100,000
www.marssociety.org
The Mars Society was established to further the goal of the exploration and settlement of the Red Planet. The Mars Society is designing and constructing a base in the northern polar desert to simulate, as much as possible, the conditions under which humans would have to operate on Mars. The Foundation’s support is underwriting a significant portion of the project.

This is the base constructed with support from the Kirsch Foundation. Photo courtesy of Mars Society.

Why we supported: This type of project helps to advance knowledge that might allow human beings to one day live and work on Mars. It is also a project that the Federal government does not consider important enough to fund relative to other NASA-type projects.