The Robert E. and May R. Wright Foundation Research Awards
The Robert E. and May R. Wright Foundation supports Keck School of Medicine faculty
basic research broadly related to arthritis, cancer, and heart disease. The Wright Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by the Dean of the School of Medicine. The Dean has delegated to the Vice Dean for Research the responsibility of selecting a Scientific Review Committee (SRC) from members of the faculty to review Wright Foundation research proposals. The Trustees meet annually in May on behalf of the continuing activities of the Foundation. At the May meeting the recommendation of the SRC on new research proposals are received and awards made to the extent of available funds for the following fiscal year.
All full-time faculty of the medical school are eligible to apply for these awards. Faculty who have received a Wright Award within the past three years are not eligible for this award. Applications from prior Wright Award winners must show that they are embarking in a completely new research direction from their previous award. The Foundation strives to fund only the best applications. Priority will be given to projects that will either initiate a new research program or direction (e.g., junior faculty; senior faculty with clear change in research direction) and to innovative projects that are interdisciplinary or have translational potential.
A Request for Applications (RFA) is generally released in February, with a letter of Intent due in early March. Full applications are due in late March for projects beginning July 1st. Historically, approx 6-8 individual research projects have been funded in the range of $50,000 to $100,000. Research projects are supported for a total of one year. To see the most recent RFA,
click here (downloadable PDF).
The Foundation has supported many worthy research projects at the Keck School of Medicine of USC over the last decade. To see a list of previous winners, please
click here (downloadable PDF).