Samantha Schumm, PhD, is an associate director on the Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration team at Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy. She brings expertise in neuroscience, data analysis, and scientific program management to guide investments in research and health initiatives. At the Milken Institute, she advises philanthropists and foundations on strategic approaches to advance neuroscience research priorities and optimize philanthropic impact on science and health.

Previously, Schumm served as a program officer with the Board on Health Sciences Policy at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. There, she directed multiple studies on the use of race and ethnicity in biomedical and genomics research and led working groups on workforce development and emerging manufacturing technologies in regenerative medicine. Her research background includes developing computational models of neuronal networks and studying traumatic brain injury. Schumm holds a PhD in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in biomedical engineering from Yale University.