Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) supports the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and is dedicated to improving health for those individuals and families worldwide who are affected by disease and disability – from Alzheimer’s disease to cancer to malaria, among many others.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV)
In a year turned upside-down by the COVID-19 pandemic, the world looked to science for answers—and the FNIH was a leader in accelerating the search for solutions. Convening and directing the Accelerating COVID-19 Therapeutic Interventions and Vaccines (ACTIV) public-private partnership in April 2020, the FNIH has supported and guided the efforts of multiple U.S. government agencies, nonprofit organizations and industry partners, all working together to develop COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
With hundreds of potential therapeutic interventions under consideration, many of them initiated by research institutions in small, underpowered, non-randomized trials, a first order of business was to identify and focus critical resources on the most promising candidates. ACTIV sifted through hundreds of potential therapeutic candidates to prioritize those most suitable for clinical development and then helped develop a robust, centralized suite of “master protocol” clinical trials.
GeneConvene
Malaria remains one of the world’s deadliest diseases, killing some 400,000 people—primarily young children—every year. Malaria is both preventable and treatable, yet stubbornly persistent, in part because control efforts such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying and seasonal chemoprevention require substantial financial commitment, political support and day-to-day behavior change among individuals and households.
New genetic biocontrol technologies could make it possible to reduce the toll of malaria either by reducing the reproduction of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, so fewer will be present to spread disease, or by decreasing their ability to carry the malaria parasite. With mosquitoes no longer transmitting malaria, individuals would be free of special protection measures and communities would enjoy extraordinary social, economic and health benefits.
A-Plus Trial
Every year globally, more than two million babies die shortly after birth, while nearly 300,000 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Many of these deaths—about 10 percent of maternal mortality and about 16 percent of neonatal mortality—are caused by infection, and many occur in low- and middle-income countries.
In 2020, the FNIH announced the launch of a new initiative to advance research on a simple but innovative intervention that could be a game-changer for preventing maternal and newborn death. Launched in partnership with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Multi-site Efficacy and Safety Trial of Intrapartum Azithromycin in Low- and Middle-Income Countries, also called the A-Plus study, will assess how well a single oral dose of azithromycin during labor can protect the health of both mothers and newborns.
Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Schizophrenia (AMP SCZ)
Schizophrenia, which affects approximately 20 million people worldwide, is one of the best-known yet least-understood brain disorders. Symptoms often emerge during the teenage years or early adulthood, but this serious mental disorder is usually not diagnosed until psychosis occurs, which may be several years later. Diagnosing and treating schizophrenia sooner could help young people struggling with its early symptoms and potentially delay or stop disease progression.
The FNIH’s Accelerating Medicines Partnership in Schizophrenia (AMP SCZ), launched in September 2020, aims to identify early indicators of the disease, which will allow researchers to test new treatments that could diagnose and help patients in its initial stages. This five-year, $99 million project brings together nine partners, including government agencies, industry, private foundations and patient-centered not-for-profit organizations, to collaborate in this critical work.
Plasma Aβ
Alzheimer’s disease is among the leading causes of death among U.S. adults. Because it gradually impairs a person’s thinking and social skills, Alzheimer’s disease also places tremendous burdens on those living with the disorder as well their families and caregivers.
Despite decades of research, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and only a handful of approved treatments. The available treatments can alleviate the symptoms of disease—but cannot stop it from continuing to damage the brain. Scientists also now believe that Alzheimer’s disease may begin decades before outward signs, such as memory loss, become apparent.
In March 2020, the FNIH Biomarkers Consortium launched a bold new project—Plasma Aβ as a Predictor of Amyloid Positivity in Alzheimer’s Disease—intended to identify simple, effective tests to detect early Alzheimer’s disease, paving the way for potential treatments that could stop the disorder before it has seriously damaged the brain.
Lurie Prize in Biomedical Science
Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences is an annual prize made possible by a generous gift from philanthropist Ann Lurie, recognizing outstanding achievements made by a promising young scientist. In 2020, the FNIH honored Aviv Regev, Ph.D., for her groundbreaking work developing the field of single-cell genomics. At that time, Dr. Regev was Core Member, Chair of the Faculty and Director of the Klarman Cell Observatory at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
Dr. Regev’s work spearheading new technologies that enable a sharper perspective on human cells has led to key insights about how cells function and has revolutionized our understanding of biology and diseases, including cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Dr. Regev is a co-founder and co-leader of the Human Cell Atlas, an international community of more than 1,800 scientists working to create comprehensive reference maps of all human cells. She is currently Executive Vice President of Genentech Research and Early Development.
Trailblazer Prize for Clinician-Scientists
The Trailblazer Prize was established in 2018 to highlight the essential role of early career clinician-scientists in spurring innovation in patient care.
In 2020, Michael Wilson, M.D., Associate Professor of Neurology in the Division of Neuroimmunology and Glial Biology at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, was awarded the prize for pioneering a next-generation diagnostic approach to pinpoint infectious causes of inflammatory conditions of the central nervous system.
Dr. Wilson’s innovative technique of metagenomic next-generation sequencing allows precise identification of the specific infectious agents causing inflammation in a patient, while ruling out irrelevant pathogens that might otherwise have been suspected. Using this approach, Dr. Wilson has unearthed key knowledge about the infectious and autoimmune causes of inflammatory conditions in the brain, spinal cord and meninges, including major discoveries.
Charles A. Sanders, M.D., Partnership Award
Each year, the FNIH bestows the Charles A. Sanders, M.D., Partnership Award to recognize people and/or organizations that have made significant contributions to the organization’s efforts to build, implement and nurture public-private partnerships in support of the mission of the NIH.
In 2020, the FNIH honored Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., long-time Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), for his legacy of leadership and ongoing support of FNIH programs propelling research in lethal infectious diseases, most recently for COVID-19.
As NIAID Director since 1984, Dr. Fauci has been at the forefront of the scientific response to prevent, diagnose and treat the world’s most vexing infectious diseases, including HIV/AIDS, Zika, Ebola and many others. Over the course of his extensive career, Dr. Fauci has overseen a wide variety of research collaborations between NIAID and the FNIH, including work in Africa on HIV/AIDS.
Where we work
Awards
Gold - Organization of the Year 2017
Stevie Award
4 stars - Seven Consecutive Years 2021
Charity Navigator
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total dollar amount raised for actively funded projects
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Total number of actively funded projects
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
A-Plus Trial
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The mission of the FNIH is to forge public-private partnerships and alliances to advance breakthrough biomedical discoveries that can change and improve the quality of people’s lives.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
The FNIH has several strategies in place to enable and implement a range of initiatives that spur innovative biomedical research and recognize scientific achievement. These strategies include the following:
• Maintain strong working relationships among the FNIH, U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and private sector partners and generate opportunities to educate them about the FNIH’s programs and capabilities.
• Continually assess the value proposition for current and potential public and private sector partners to ensure it is attractive and implemented appropriately.
• Develop and maintain strategies for raising funds from the private sector to deliver a reliable funding pool for projects.
• Develop opportunities to extend the FNIH’s role to additional biomedical research areas beyond its current portfolio.
• Apply current program models to other aspects of biomedical research.
• Support activities to organize and facilitate symposia, events, exhibits, fellowships, awards and patient support initiatives.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The U.S. Congress established the FNIH in 1990 to raise private sector funds and administer biomedical research programs to support the mission of the NIH. The FNIH is comprised of a team of renowned scientists, program managers and fundraisers who have the expertise and experience to carry out this critical role in furthering biomedical discovery.
The FNIH accelerates biomedical research by raising private sector funds and forging powerful collaborations among world-leading public and private institutions, and individual donors. By harnessing the exponential thinking and resources of diverse partners around a common mission, the FNIH creates, adopts and implements new research models that seek fresh knowledge and catalyze collaborations to improve health, lengthen life and reduce illness and disability. These alliances foster innovation and channel resources for maximum impact — achieving results far greater than what can be accomplished by any single organization and often in a pre-or non-competitive environment that is not possible otherwise.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The FNIH is known for the creation of public-private partnerships in the medical field and is considered a model for other foundations that support a government agency. The FNIH recently reached the milestone of raising more than $1 billion from the private sector to make health discoveries possible. With its sound financial management, the FNIH has earned an “Exceeds or Meets Industry Standards” rating for 18 consecutive years from Charity Navigator. The funds raised by the FNIH have supported more than 600 programs spanning more than 40 countries. These programs focus on a variety of topics from biomedical research to science training to patient care activities at the NIH and beyond. Recent accomplishments include:
• Launched with the NIH the $215 million Partnership for Accelerating Cancer Therapies (PACT) to advance new immunotherapy treatments to attack cancer.
• Raised $12 million from the private sector to expand the renowned Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMP) to a fourth area of focus: Parkinson’s disease.
• Received the first ever qualification of a clinical safety biomarker awarded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – a major milestone that will improve the detection of drug-induced kidney injury in early phase drug development. The newly qualified biomarker can now be used in Phase I clinical trials to aid in the detection of acute kidney tubular injury in healthy volunteers. This will help improve the development of safe and effective medicines where concern has been raised that an investigational drug may cause kidney injury.
• Brought together international experts to explore the complex regulatory and ethical issues surrounding mosquito modification technology and developed consensus to guide future research and regulations.
• Continued to help build a critical pipeline of clinician-scientists that is ready to meet the demands of the changing population by supporting numerous training programs and fellowships at the NIH and recognizing outstanding researchers through awards.
As a trusted resource for the scientific community, the FNIH will continue to lead efforts to shape the course of biomedical science and human health for decades to come.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 06/01/2022
Steven Paul, M.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Karuna Therapeutics
Julie Louise Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H.
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health
Solomon H. Snyder, M.D.
Distinguished Service Professor of Neuroscience, Pharmacology & Psychiatry Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience at Johns Hopkins University
Steven C. Mayer
Former Chief Executive Officer, CoGenesys, Inc.
William McCormick Blair
Director Emeritus, Albert & Mary Lasker Foundation
Kathy Bloomgarden, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Ruder Finn Inc.
Marijn Dekkers, Ph.D.
Chairman, Unilever; Founder and Chairman, Novalis Life Sciences LLC
James H. Donovan
Partner, Goldman Sachs & Company; Adjunct Professor, University of Virginia
Paul L. Herrling, Ph.D.
Chairman, Novartis Institute for Tropical Disease
Thomas R. Insel, M.D.
Founder and President, Mindstrong Health
Judy Lansing Kovler, Ph.D.
Director, Kovler Foundation
Ronald L. Krall
Adjunct Professor of Neurology, University of Rochester
Freda C. Lewis-Hall, M.D., DFAPA
Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Pfizer Inc
Julie Bell Lindsay
Executive Director, Center for Audit Quality (CAQ)
Edison T. Liu, M.D., Ph.D.
President & CEO, The Jackson Laboratory
Joel S. Marcus
Executive Chairman and Founder, Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. and Alexandria Venture Investments
Gilbert S. Omenn, M.D., Ph.D.
Harold T. Shapiro Distinguished University Professor, University of Michigan Medical School
Jillian Sackler, D.B.E.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Dame Jillian & Dr. Arthur M. Sackler Foundation for the Arts, Sciences & Humanities
Lily Safra
Chairwoman, Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation
Charles A. Sanders, M.D.
Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Glaxo Inc.
Fred Seigel
President and Chief Operating Officer, Beacon Capital Partners
Ellen V. Sigal, Ph.D.
Chairperson, Friends of Cancer Research
Russell W. Steenberg
Global Head, BlackRock Private Equity Partners
Paul Stoffels, M.D.
Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer, Johnson & Johnson
Elias Zerhouni, M.D.
Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University
Lawrence A. Tabak
Acting Director, National Institutes of Health
Robert M. Califf
Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration
Paul Berg, Ph.D.
Cahill Professor in Biochemistry (Emeritus), Stanford University School of Medicine
Sherry Lansing
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, The Sherry Lansing Foundation
Paul M. Montrone, Ph.D.
Chairman, Perspecta Trust
The Honorable John Edward Porter
Hogan Lovells US, LLP
Ann Lurie
President, Lurie Holdings; President and Treasurer, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Foundation
Samuel O. Thier
Professor of Medicine and Health Care Policy, Emeritus, Harvard Medical School; Massachusetts General Hospital
Patrick C. Walsh, M.D.
University Distinguished Service Professor, James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
Board leadership practices
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data