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PHOTO CREDIT: Kris Snibbe/Harvard Public Affairs & Communications

Biomedical Research

Our funding for biomedical research seeks to expand discoveries of genomic medicine. We fund research at the frontiers of molecular biology that could lead to important breakthroughs for clinical practice.

We also support talented scientists in the early stages of their careers, or “young investigators.” We invest resources in an effort to keep young investigators engaged in research instead of clinical practice only. Our hope is that our support launches or boosts a scientist’s career, which leads to funding from other sources to sustain his or her work.

“When my daughter was in medical school, she found that many of the smartest kids in the class wanted to go into research but couldn’t because the NIH no longer funded young investigators as they had in the past. Here we were on the cusp of major, life-changing advancements in biological sciences and our brightest young minds couldn’t afford to make them because of debt from college and medical school. I said ‘we’ve got to find a way to help'.” - LOUIS V. GERSTNER, JR.

Our Grantees


Major Biomedical Research Grants


Grants listed below may be from the Gerstner Family Foundation or another Gerstner family philanthropic vehicle. Amounts may reflect cumulative annual grants or multi-year grants. To see annual amounts, please see listings of grants paid each year.

  • American Museum of Natural History

    New York, NY | Visit Website

    To establish the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Collections Core at the museum's Gilder Center.

    $10,000,000


    To fund the Gerstner Scholars Program in biological research.

    $6,655,000

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

    Boston, MA | Visit Website

    To fund the Louis V. Gerstner III Research Fund to support young investigators studying ADHD.

    $2,012,880


    To support the emergency cash grant program.

    $50,000


    To support the Louis V. Gerstner, III ADHD Innovation Study.

    $300,000

  • Broad Institute

    Cambridge, MA | Visit Website

    To support the work of the Gerstner Center for Cancer Diagnostics.

    $20,000,000


    To establish the Gerstner Center for Cancer Diagnostics.

    $15,000,000


    To fund the Cancer Drug Resistance Project.

    $10,000,000

  • Mayo Clinic

    Rochester, MN | Visit Website

    To fund five initiatives across the Clinic, including research in the use of augmented human intelligence in cardiovascular care, care for arthritis and spine pain using regenerative medicine and data analytics, the Gerstner Family Career Development Award

    $10,000,000


    To fund the Gerstner Family Career Development award in individualized medicine.

    $3,750,000

  • Columbia University Medical Center

    New York, NY | Visit Website

    To fund the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Scholars Fund.

    $11,000,000


    To establish the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Clinical Research Center in Vision.

    $2,500,000


    To fund the faculty development fund in Ophthalmology.

    $200,000

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

    New York, NY | Visit Website

    To establish the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Physician Scholars Program.

    $25,000,000


    To establish the Gerstner Sloan Kettering School of Biomedical Sciences.

    $15,000,000


    To establish the Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Young Investigator awards.

    $5,000,000

Biomedical Research News