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The Hartwell Foundation makes grants to individual researchers for early-stage biomedical research with potential to benefit children. Researchers cannot apply to it directly: the Foundation first selects a small group of US institutions, and only those institutions can nominate investigators. This guide explains that two-level structure, who is eligible, what the awards pay, and how the process runs, as described on the Foundation’s official pages and checked on 2026-10-29. (Not to be confused with Leland Hartwell, the cell-cycle Nobel laureate, or with other organisations that share the name.)
What the Hartwell Foundation is and who runs it
As described on the Foundation’s mission page on 2026-10-29, The Hartwell Foundation makes grant awards to individuals for innovative and cutting-edge biomedical applied research, with a focus on work that could benefit children. The programs listed on its site are the Top Ten Centers of Biomedical Research, the Individual Biomedical Research Awards, the Biomedical Research Collaboration Awards and the Biomedical Research Fellowships. According to its Individual Awards page, finalist interviews are held at the Foundation’s offices in Memphis, TN.
The program most researchers mean by “Hartwell” is the Individual Biomedical Research Award. It sits on top of the Top Ten Centers list, which decides which institutions may nominate anyone at all.
Eligibility
Per the Individual Biomedical Research Awards page (checked 2026-10-29):
- Nominees come from the faculty and research staff of eligible research institutions in the United States, in basic or applied life sciences including biomedical engineering.
- Only investigators nominated by an invited institution’s chief executive are eligible.
- The institution must hold an open internal competition to choose its nominees.
- “All Nominees for the Award must hold U.S. citizenship.”
Which institutions can nominate (2026 cycle)
The 2026 Top Ten page (checked 2026-10-29) lists these Top Ten Centers, announced in 2026, each of which may nominate up to three individuals: Case Western Reserve University, Cornell University, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, University of California Davis, University of California San Diego, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Yale University.
The Foundation may also invite institutions with limited participation, which nominate up to two individuals. For 2026 these are Boston University, Drexel University, Emory University, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Northwestern University and the University of Vermont. The page states that selection in one year does not guarantee selection in a later year, so check the current year’s list before planning.
How centers are chosen
The Foundation says it considers shared values on children’s health, the presence of an associated medical school and biomedical engineering program, the quality and scope of ongoing biomedical research, and the institution’s commitment to collaboration, investigator support and translational and technology-transfer efforts.
What it funds or requires
The Foundation describes the Individual Award as support for three years at $100,000 direct cost per year, and each investigator also receives a video conferencing system. At least ten awards are made per cycle. Because the figure is stated as direct cost, see the CASRAI entries on direct costs and indirect costs for the distinction.
On the type of work, the Top Ten page says nominees should propose risk-taking innovation that addresses an unmet need, with potential for clinical translation to benefit children, and the award supports early-stage, innovative research. See the translational research entry if the term is new to you.
One university’s internal call (the Weill Cornell Medicine funding page, checked 2026-10-29) adds campus-level conditions: indirect costs are not allowed, the same person may not be nominated in two consecutive annual competitions, and basic research, clinical trials, surveys and health services research are not funded. These are one institution’s statements of the rules; confirm them with your own research office.
Application and nomination steps
- Your institution runs an internal competition. You apply to your own research office, not to the Foundation. Weill Cornell’s call tells applicants to contact their institution’s office rather than the Foundation.
- The chief executive nominates. Up to three nominees for a Top Ten Center, up to two for a limited-participation institution.
- Nominees submit a formal proposal to the Foundation.
- A limited number are invited to a personal, closed interview at the Foundation’s offices in Memphis, where each gives a concise presentation of the proposed research.
- Awards are selected from the interviewed candidates.
For the internal stage, the Weill Cornell call lists a packet of a 30-line abstract, nomination letter, lay summary, two-page proposal, budget and biosketch. That is Cornell’s packet, not a Foundation-wide template. The CASRAI principal investigator entry covers the role these nominees hold.
Typical timeline phases
The Foundation’s pages describe the cycle in phases rather than fixed dates, and dates change each year:
- Top Ten Centers and limited-participation institutions are announced (April 15 in 2026).
- Institutions run internal competitions.
- Nominees are submitted to the Foundation (September, for the 2026 cycle).
- Proposals are reviewed and finalists are interviewed in Memphis.
- Awards are selected and funded in April of the following year (selected investigators are announced in April 2027 for the 2026 cycle).
- Investigators present at an annual meeting, typically in the last week of September or first week of October.
Common mistakes
- Trying to apply directly. Only nominees of invited institutions are eligible, so the first step is your own research office.
- Assuming last year’s list still applies. The Foundation states that selection in one year does not guarantee a later year.
- Overlooking citizenship. Every nominee must hold US citizenship.
- Proposing work the funder does not describe. The Foundation describes early-stage, innovative, translational research; Weill Cornell’s call says basic research, clinical trials, surveys and health services research are not funded.
Related programs
| Program | What the official site states |
|---|---|
| Top Ten Centers of Biomedical Research | Annual list of institutions invited to nominate; up to three nominees each |
| Individual Biomedical Research Awards | $100,000 direct cost per year for three years; nominee-only; US citizens |
| Biomedical Research Fellowships | Each institution whose nominee is funded may designate one postdoctoral candidate: $50,000 direct cost per year for two years |
| Biomedical Research Collaboration Awards | Listed as a program on the Foundation’s mission page |
For other private funders, see CASRAI’s guides to private foundation research funding and the major early-career foundation fellowships.
FAQ
Can I apply to the Hartwell Foundation directly?
No. Only investigators nominated by the chief executive of an invited institution are eligible, after an internal competition at that institution.
What is the Hartwell Foundation Individual Biomedical Research Award worth?
$100,000 direct cost per year for three years, plus a video conferencing system for each investigator.
Do I have to be a US citizen?
Yes. The Foundation states that all nominees must hold US citizenship.
Which institutions are Top Ten Centers?
For 2026: Case Western Reserve, Cornell, Duke, Johns Hopkins, UC Davis, UC San Diego, Penn, Virginia, Wisconsin-Madison and Yale. The list is reselected each year.
What is the Hartwell Fellowship?
An institution whose nominee is funded may designate a postdoctoral candidate for $50,000 direct cost per year for two years.
Sources
- The Hartwell Foundation, mission and programs, checked 2026-10-29.
- The Hartwell Foundation, Individual Biomedical Research Awards, checked 2026-10-29.
- The Hartwell Foundation, 2026 Top Ten Centers, checked 2026-10-29.
- Weill Cornell Medicine, internal call for Hartwell awards (one institution’s process), checked 2026-10-29.
