Research in genetics holds enormous promise for alleviating future sickness and poverty while helping realize humanity’s fullest physical and material potential.

The Genetics Funding Area seeks to advance genetics research by supporting novel approaches and contrarian projects, especially research that is undervalued by traditional funding sources. In addition to basic and translational research, this Funding Area supports educational programs that increase public awareness concerning the ways in which genetics-related research and its applications can advance human flourishing at the individual, familial, and societal levels.

Our current focus is on research and engagement projects that explore fundamental genetic and epigenetic mechanisms regulating inter- and trans-generational transmittance of biological information and health outcomes. We are particularly interested in how early life choices and environmental exposures causally impact development and the early onset of disease, and diagnostic platforms that may predict generational disease susceptibility.

2022 Update:

Among the Genetics OFIs to be selected in 2022, we hope to include a few small projects (requests less than $250,000) that explore plant resilience and its potential benefits to the global food supply under changing climate conditions. Possible areas of interest include the experimental exploration of biological or molecular mechanisms of stress resistance and the development of genetic technologies that could be useful to small farms or specific regions. We particularly welcome (but not exclusively) submissions from early career scientists from South American countries.