We seek to enable collaborative research efforts with the potential to produce transformative change in society and to make the results of the latest scientific research accessible to the public. Partners like The Rockefeller University push to expand the boundaries of human knowledge with discoveries that tangibly improve and enrich human lives.
Rockefeller University
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation–David Rockefeller River Campus
The SNF–DR River Campus expanded the grounds of the renowned biomedical research university by two acres and added new state-of-the-art laboratory facilities designed to facilitate advanced biomedical research and collaboration between researchers.
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Round-the-Clock COVID-19 Research

A major SNF grant helped bolster Rockefeller’s urgent research initiatives related to COVID-19 and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes it. These initiatives included recent Nobel Laureate Charles M. Rice and involved llama antibodies, dummy viruses, and lab-made “micro-lungs.”
Finding Better Treatments for Neglected Diseases
The World Health Organization goal of eliminating cases of sleeping sickness by 2030 seems to be within reach, but we’ve been here before. Proven new treatments for the deadly disease are needed, and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative is leading an international network striving to find and implement them.
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Pakistani arachnids, Arctic fossils, and ancient Sudanese carvings

Whether it’s into polar waters, among the foothills of the Himalayas, or beneath the ground of Svalbard, the intellectual journey of scientific discovery sometimes requires a physical journey as well. SNF supports the Constantine S. Niarchos Scientific Expeditions at the American Museum of Natural History in making these journeys of exploration.
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CYBATHLON Makes Competition a Catalyst for Advancing Assistive Technologies

It’s not every tournament that begins with a Brain-Computer Interface Race. The CYBATHLON from ETH Zurich aims to inspire research and development of technology to assist people with physical disabilities in going about their lives, while also encouraging dialogue on inclusion for people with disabilities.
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Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute Shares Brain Insights
Three related initiatives at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Institute aim to engage the public in learning about the science of the human brain:
- The SNF Brain Insight Lecture
- The BRAINYAC program to get high school students into the lab
- The SNF Teacher-Scholar Program to help educators bring the latest brain science into their classrooms
Sharing the Latest in Stem Cell Science
SNF has supported research infrastructure at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) and supports public programming to help share insights from the world of stem cell science widely. Events cover topics from the science behind COVID-19 vaccines with a founder of Moderna, to how to distribute those vaccines ethically, to gene editing, to the future of Alzheimer’s.
Their Heart’s in the Work and their Work’s in the Heart

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and Europe. The Zurich Heart project, an interdisciplinary effort bringing together almost 20 research groups across institutions, aims to create a fully implantable assist device that resolves problems with existing treatment technology.
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Explore more grants
- The Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens in creating the Greek Genome Center in 2015, which subsequently lead the national effort to sequence COVID-19 genomes in Greece
- The Centre for Research &Technology Hellas (CERTH) in creating the SNF APT Lab – Sustainability through Circularity, the evolution of CERTH’s Aerosol and Particle Technology Laboratory, to accelerate development of technologies with low or no carbon emissions
- Partnering with the Hellenic Foundation for Research & Innovation to fund research project determined by the European Research Council to be of high scientific value
- The creation of the Francis Crick Institute, a center of biomedical research in London
- Creating a high biosafety laboratory for research into tuberculosis and other infectious diseases at the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
- Education outreach programs at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Learn more about SNF’s support for transformative research with the potential to improve lives