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Science Philanthropy Ecosystem
Featured
SP
Report
Health Equity in Science: A Giving Smarter Guide
Health equity is the state in which every person has a fair and just opportunity to achieve the best possible health.
Read
Report
SP
Featured
SP
Report
Health Equity in Science: A Giving Smarter Guide
Health equity is the state in which every person has a fair and just opportunity to achieve the best possible health.
Read
Report
SP
SVG
Science Philanthropy Ecosystem
Programs
Our team brings deep expertise across a number of medical research fields, as well as many cross-disciplinary areas that are strengthening the research ecosystem.
AI for Neurodegenerative Disease
The World Health Organization estimates that by the year 2040, neurodegenerative disease (ND) will be second only to heart disease...
AI in Health
We bring together funders and stakeholders from across disciplines to engage and build strong, thoughtful partnerships to grow the...
Health Equity
Within the US, life expectancy can vary by as many as 15 years, depending on income level, education, and where an individual...
Neuroarchitecture
People spend around 90 percent of their time indoors—living, working, learning, and healing—prompting an important conversation...
New Therapies
We work across the scientific ecosystem to identify barriers to progress and pinpoint opportunities to strategically engage in the...
Systems Change in Science and Health
Science needs strategic funding, collaboration, interdisciplinary expertise, and an understanding of how new medicines and tools...
Science Philanthropy Ecosystem
Highlights
A Call to Action for Science Funding Solutions at Global Conference 2025
At the Milken Institute’s Global Conference, we saw robust debate about the future of science in the United States. Members of the current administration focused outlined their goals to advance science which included “to achieve and...Read ArticleImage
Cara Altimus, PhD
Managing Director, Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team, Milken Institute Strategic PhilanthropyCara Altimus, PhD is a managing director on the Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team at Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy, leading the science and health innovation portfolio. A PhD neuroscientist, Altimus advises individual philanthropists and foundations on the state of research for various areas including neurodegenerative disease and mental health, identifying opportunities where their capital can make the biggest impact.
Health Equity in Science: A Giving Smarter Guide
Health equity is the state in which every person has a fair and just opportunity to achieve the best possible health.Read Report
SP
Biswas Family Foundation Transformative Computational Biology Grant Awardees
The Biswas Family Foundation and the Milken Institute are pleased to announce the five research teams selected to receive funding in the first cycle of the Transformative Computational Biology Grant Program. Almost $14 million has been...Read Article
Transformative Computational Biology: A Giving Smarter Guide
Computational tools can rapidly identify patterns in vast volumes of biomedical and clinical data, leading to discoveries that can transform the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases to improve human health. While the scientific...Read Report
Biswas Family Foundation, Milken Institute Announce $15 Million in Funding for Research at the Intersection of AI and Health
WASHINGTON, DC (March 12, 2024) — The Biswas Family Foundation, in partnership with the Milken Institute Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC), is pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the...Read Article
An Overview of Pediatric Preventive Health Care in the United States
Healthy children are the cornerstone of a healthy world. This is why ensuring that children thrive has been the focus of many philanthropic efforts over the centuries. US-based donors who enter the space often do so because of a distressing...Read Report
Infrastructure, Readiness, and Resilience: A Long-Term, Biomedical Systems-Based Response to COVID-19
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, scientists, policymakers, health-care workers, and average citizens worldwide mobilized in ways never seen before to mitigate the challenge at hand. From rapid vaccine development to securing PPE and...Read Report
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The Value of Building an Interdisciplinary Scientific Workforce — A Call to Philanthropy
The challenges that science strives to solve are increasingly complex, and making progress toward them requires constant innovation and the expertise of multiple fields of study. Interdisciplinary research drives this innovation by bringing...Read ReportEF
Nonprofits: A Growing Force in Drug Development
Shepherding a drug from discovery to the market is a complex process that involves many actors. The process often begins with academic researchers making a breakthrough discovery in the lab and ends with pharmaceutical companies running...Read ReportKK
Team
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Cara Altimus, PhD
Managing Director, Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team, Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy
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Ishita Das, PhD
Director, Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team, Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy
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Taylor Evans, PhD
Senior Associate, Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team, Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy
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Erin Ross
Director, Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team, Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy
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Kara Whelply
Associate Director, Science Philanthropy Accelerator for Research and Collaboration (SPARC) team, Milken Institute Strategic Philanthropy