Burroughs Wellcome Fund Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between scholars working in largely disconnected fields who might together change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. Over the next two years, we will dedicate $1M to supporting small, early-stage grants of $2,500 - $50,000 toward achieving this goal. We are particularly but not exclusively interested in activities that  build  connections  between  basic/early  biomedical   scientific  approaches  and  ecological,  environmental,   geological,  geographic,  and  planetary-scale  thinking,   as  well  as  with  population-focused  fields  including   epidemiology and public health, demography, economics, and  urban  planning.  Also  of  interest  is  work  piloting  new   approaches or new interactions toward reducing the impact of health-centered activities, for example, developing more sustainable  systems  for  health  care,  care  delivery,  and   biomedical  research  systems.  Another  area  of  interest   is  preparation  for  the  impacts  of  extreme  weather  and   other  crises  that  can  drive  large  scale  disruptions  that   will  immediately  impact  human  health  and  delivery  of   health care. Public outreach, climate communication, and education efforts focused on the intersection of climate and health are also appropriate for this call.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis quarterly. A review will be conducted quarterly. After each quarterly review, we will support, decline, or send proposals back to applicants for revision, but may hold some proposals over for a future review. Recommended revisions may include suggestions that separate groups of applicants submitting similar proposals work together to develop a single proposal or that applicants consider becoming involved in efforts aligned with work funded in earlier quarters.