THE WESTFALL FOUNDATION

Medical Research Grants

Westfall Foundation will support research with grants provided by the organization itself and by other public, non-profit organizations that are exempt from federal income taxes under section 501(a) as organizations described in section 501(c)(3). Westfall Foundation pursues a multi-tiered approach. Westfall Foundation, itself, provides support for the first couple of tiers - smaller, short-range "seed" grants, and somewhat larger, mid-range (R21-type) grants. The smaller, "seed" grants (usually $25,000 to $60,000 per year for one or two years) are intended to attract new research investigators and assist existing investigators by supporting the early phases of their research (including funds for equipment and post-doctoral fellowships). These "seed" grants will permit investigators to collect preliminary data and test initial hypotheses. In some cases, significant findings might result, or additional investigators might be attracted to the field. In other cases, this preliminary research will better prepare the investigators to submit successful applications for the second-tier, mid-range (R21-type) Westfall Foundation grants or even third-tier, larger, longer-term (4-7 year, R01-type) grants from larger grant-making Agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The second-tier Westfall Foundation grants (usually $60,000 to $100,000 per year for one or two years) are intended to translate more mature research directly into projects of clinical interest or into successful applications for third-tier support.

Workshop Grants

Westfall Foundation supports scientific workshops designed to advance the research into treatments and cures. These workshops will be of two types - full-scale workshops and project-specific workshops.

Full-Scale Workshops - Westfall Foundation sponsors periodic, comprehensive, international workshops. These workshops provide the opportunity for the full scientific community involved in pertinent research to come together to share findings and insights across the full spectrum of disciplines and approaches. When necessary, Westfall Foundation will seek financial support from other organizations to help support these workshops.

Project-Specific Workshops - Westfall Foundation intends also to support workshops arranged for smaller groups of investigators when face-to-face collaboration on a specific approach or insight, or some other opportunity promises to advance Westfall Foundation`s mission. In such cases, the workshop site will be selected so as to optimize collaboration and minimize costs.