How Philanthropy Can Fuel the Next Generation of Biomedical Researchers

The path to a traditional academic career in biomedical research often spans a decade or more, including five to six years of graduate training followed by three to five years of postdoctoral research before competing for a faculty position. Scientists navigating this pipeline—specifically postdoctoral researchers and faculty members within their first five to ten years—are collectively known as early‑career researchers (ECRs). ECRs are the engine behind the US biomedical enterprise, driving new and innovative research; without them, progress would stall.

Today, that engine is sputtering. Long-standing structural barriers, compounded by recent US policy changes, pose disproportionate challenges for ECRs. These disruptions have slowed research, closed laboratories, derailed careers, and triggered a loss of scientific talent, threatening to unravel decades of US investment in the biomedical sciences and medicine.

The Extraordinary Social and Economic Return on Biomedical Research Funding

The US leads the world in biomedical innovation, accounting for more than half of global biotechnology research and development. This leadership was built in the decades following World War II through coordinated federal and philanthropic investment in the research ecosystem. The returns on those investments have been extraordinary.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates that every dollar invested in foundational biomedical research generates more than $2.50 in economic activity, but the returns go beyond economics. Federal investment has fueled breakthroughs that improve the lives of billions, including mRNA vaccines and a cure for sickle cell disease. Federal investment has also helped build a scientific workforce that attracts global talent to the US, anchored by ECRs.

Although the US biomedical research enterprise was built on government support, government funding alone cannot sustain it through this period of instability. Meeting the current challenge requires additional sources of investment, and philanthropy can catalyze efforts to retain and support talent within the US biomedical workforce. This moment should serve as a call to action: Sustained philanthropic investment will be essential to preserving US scientific leadership.

A Workforce Under Strain

While private companies generally bring new treatments to market, the early-stage science that makes those treatments possible usually emerges from publicly funded academic research, largely driven by ECRs. However, long-standing systemic challenges, including extreme competition for funding and uncompetitive academic salaries, have punctured the academic career pipeline. As a result, PhD researchers increasingly pursue private-sector roles, contributing to a shrinking US postdoctoral workforce and a loss of talent from academia. 

Recent shifts in federal policy have triggered funding cuts that further strain the scientific research and training pipeline. By early 2026, the federal government had terminated billions of dollars in life sciences research grants, including nearly 100 active postdoctoral grants, and withheld or canceled thousands of new ones. Training programs for the next generation of scientists were among the hardest hit, with NIH canceling 67 percent of early-career training grants and 42 percent of postdoctoral awards.

Although some NIH funding has been restored, federal workforce reductions and departures will continue to slow grant review, delay funding disbursement, and disrupt ongoing research programs in the near term. Other nations are leveraging these changes to recruit displaced US researchers, including ECRs. As these scientists pursue stability and opportunity abroad, so go the keys to America’s biomedical research engine.

Why Philanthropy Matters Now

When funding for academic research hits a roadblock, philanthropy can provide the jump-start the ecosystem desperately needs. In 2023, more than 20 percent of academic research funding came from philanthropic sources, and it has been encouraging to see philanthropic funders continue to advocate for ECR funding amid current funding disruptions. 

Greater university endowment spending is another proposed solution, but while US universities currently spend roughly $30 billion annually from their endowments, much of that funding is restricted and reserved for non-research purposes. These barriers leave universities ill-equipped to fill federal funding gaps.

“Where academic endowments encounter obstacles, philanthropy is uniquely positioned to act. Philanthropy’s ability to engage diverse audiences, take risks, and invest beyond traditional timelines has made it a vital component of the research ecosystem for decades. Although philanthropy alone cannot offset federal cuts, it can help stabilize the ecosystem and catalyze future investment across sectors. [Philanthropy] has a role. It’s not a money role. It’s a vision role.”  —Elias Zerhouni, MD, former NIH Director at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026

The Milken Institute Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) has long prioritized the biomedical workforce in its engagements with philanthropic partners. For example, SPARC’s support for the Ann Theodore Foundation Learning Opportunities in Medicine and Sarcoidosis program has helped more ECRs pursue research and receive critical mentorship in this underfunded disease area. 

Recently, SPARC partnered with a private family foundation to develop a strategy for rapidly investing in ECRs. SPARC evaluated nearly 100 nongovernmental biomedical research ECR funding programs and found that recent policy shifts have led some funders to reduce support for certain programs. SPARC identified four areas where additional philanthropic support would have the greatest impact today:

1. Postdoctoral fellowships retain graduates in academic research and support their training.
2. Transitional funding for postdoctoral researchers facilitates the movement of talented researchers into faculty roles and supports biomedical innovation.
3. Early-career bridge funding enables ECRs to pursue innovative early-stage research in a competitive funding environment.
4. Support for career development allows ECRs to develop career skills outside their research areas, such as communication, mentorship, and entrepreneurship.

SPARC guided the private family foundation in providing funding to support nearly 80 postdoctoral fellows over two years, and we hope other philanthropic organizations will follow suit by increasing investment in ECRs. SPARC will continue working with other philanthropic organizations to design and scale funding models that support a robust, resilient biomedical workforce. 

The future of US biomedical innovation depends on the choices philanthropy makes today. Rebuilding and sustaining this workforce will require a coordinated philanthropic commitment to this essential group of scientists.