Mathers Foundation Grant Program

General Information

Program Description

For many years the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation has enjoyed special recognition in the research community for supporting “basic” scientific research, realizing that true transformative breakthroughs usually occur after a thorough understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying natural phenomena. More recently, and with the advent of newer investigative methodologies, technology, and tools, the Foundation’s grants program seeks to support innovative, potentially transformative basic science projects in fields including immunology, microbiome, genetics, genomics, structural biology, cellular physiology, cancer biology, microbiology and infectious disease, stem cell biology, and neuroscience.

Limitation

Schools may submit three (3) application(s) for Penn’s internal competition.

Eligibility

• Appointment: Open to faculty at all levels involved in life science research in areas such as (but not limited to) immunology, microbiome, genomics, structural biology, cellular physiology, and neuroscience.
• Collaborative Research: Collaborative research projects with other US-based organizations are acceptable. However, research collaborations between US-based organizations and organizations based outside the US are not encouraged and will be given lower priority. Interdisciplinary project proposals may require additional information regarding collaborator(s)’ achievements and relevant expertise.
• Direct Support: Funds can only be awarded to US-based research institutions that directly support investigators; no grants will be made to third-party organizations.
• Geographic Restrictions: No grants will be made to organizations based outside the United States, nor to individuals.
• For any sponsored research projects, the applicant must be eligible to serve as Principal Investigator for the project, unless otherwise noted in the LSO. Please see Penn’s PI Eligibility requirements to ensure you are eligible.

The Foundation does not support:

• COVID-19-related research projects (aims or sub-aims).  
• Medical imaging technology-related projects and/or electrical engineering technology development projects.  
• Plant Biology Research, Oceanography, Space Exploration, and Global Warming related research.  
• Requests for support of clinical trials or drug discovery will not be approved. The Foundation will not support projects that they consider pre-clinical drug development.
• Medical imaging technology related projects and/or electrical engineering technology development projects will not be considered.
• Requests for funding previous federally supported research, and/or applications pending federal approval will not be accorded priority consideration.
• Expenses for computers, computer-generated systems/and AI data generation cannot be expensed. 

Award Information

• Preliminary Budgets: Preliminary budgets are required during the LOI phase and should include an estimate of the major costs for compensation, supplies, etc.
• Budget Justification: In formal proposals (if invited), budget justification should provide detailed costs of the investigator’s salaries, including all personnel involved, laboratory supplies, miscellaneous costs, etc., and will be highly scrutinized.
• Capital Equipment: The Foundation’s grant award is not intended to be utilized for purchasing capital equipment (“bricks and mortar”) for the lab and is intended only to support the actual investigation.
• Tuition Expenses: Tuition expenses (remission) may not be covered for personnel (graduate students involved in the project) if considered excessive. Benefits/fringe rate, including health insurance, may be approved on a case-by-case basis, notwithstanding agreements with other agencies (e.g., DHHS).
• Core Services: Expenses for core services (e.g., Cryo-EM, sequencing) may not be approved if considered excessive.