In a new article for “Science at the Ballot Box,” a new series published by Nautilus magazine in partnership with the Aspen Institute Science and Society Program, 2024 Civic Science Fellow Michael Akinwumi, Rita Allen Foundation President and CEO Elizabeth Christopherson, Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics Science and Politics Program Director…
Seven pioneering scientists selected for major biomedical research grants. The Rita Allen Foundation has named its 2024 class of Rita Allen Foundation Scholars, celebrating seven early-career leaders in the biomedical sciences whose research holds exceptional promise for revealing new pathways to advance human health. The…
The pioneering Civic Science Fellows program—designed to catalyze progress toward a future where all people can shape science to expand its benefits and horizons—welcomes more than 40 new and returning partner organizations, connecting diverse sectors and disciplines including journalism, scientific research, social sciences, medicine, communications, public engagement, and philanthropy.
Join the Civic Science Fellows network on Wednesday, March 27, from 12–1:00 p.m. ET for Civic Science Connect: When Art and Science Collaborate, part of the Civic Science Connect series. WATCH HERE The session will: Featuring Panelists: Daniel Jay, Professor of Cell Biology at Tufts University…
David Nirenberg, Director and Leon Levy Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, has been elected to the Rita Allen Foundation Board of Directors. Nirenberg, whose term begins immediately, is a historian of society and ideas, an author and a public intellectual, and an academic leader advancing the ability of different…
How can new generations prepare to lead in a future that is unknown? Drawing from a growing body of evidence-informed practice and practice-informed research, a team of Civic Science Fellows, contributors, and advisors have drafted the Civic Science Career Roadmap as a starting point for reflection,…
To help raise awareness of the chronic pain epidemic that impacts the lives of approximately 20 precent of Americans, the Science Philanthropy Alliance and Rita Allen Foundation have collaborated on a new blog post as part of “Pain Awareness Month.” So many big questions regarding pain are unanswered. Elizabeth Christopherson,…
The Rita Allen Foundation joins a coalition of 22 donors today in announcing Press Forward, a national initiative to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information with an infusion of more than a half-billion dollars over the next five years. Press Forward will…
Pioneering early-career biomedical scientists selected for $3.15 million in research investments. The Rita Allen Foundation has selected its 2023 class of Rita Allen Foundation Scholars, celebrating nine early-career leaders in the biomedical sciences whose research holds exceptional promise for revealing new pathways to advance human health. The selected Scholars will receive grants of up to $110,000 annually for a maximum of five years to conduct innovative research on critical topics in cancer, immunology, neuroscience, and pain. Scholars in the Class of 2023 are investigating gene expression regulation and dysregulation in cancers; the role of a distinctive brain structure, the choroid plexus, in supporting brain health; and the impact of autoantibodies in advancing pain in complicated diseases such as fibromyalgia.
Photo: Courtesy Yuan-Xiang Tao How can we help the ones we love, when we see them suffering? Yuan-Xiang Tao was motivated to dedicate his career to chronic pain research and developing novel therapeutics early in his youth, after watching his father battle liver cancer. Tao’s father passed away in 1989, and during the later stages of his illness, he experienced tremendous pain with opioids as the only available treatment. Due to complications with side effects, his father refused to continue the treatment altogether after only a few weeks. Tao remembers, “I wanted to be a teacher in medical school, after graduating from university, but my father’s illness changed my career path.”