NOTE: Beginning April 30, 2025, we will no longer accept phone calls or emails regarding the Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants program. Instead, we will hold nine Zoom sessions per quarter to address questions from potential applicants. A sign-up link is forthcoming.

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between thinkers working in largely disconnected fields, who, together, may change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. Between Fall 2023 and Summer 2026, we will dedicate $1 million to supporting small, early-stage grants of $2,500–$50,000 toward achieving this goal.

We are primarily, but not exclusively, interested in activities that build connections between basic and early biomedical scientific approaches and ecological, environmental, geological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking, as well as with population-focused fields, including epidemiology and public health, demography, economics, and urban planning. Also of interest is work piloting new approaches or interactions aimed at reducing the impact of health-centered activities, such as developing more sustainable systems for healthcare, care delivery, and biomedical research.

Another area of interest is preparation for the impacts of extreme weather and other crises that can lead to large-scale disruptions, immediately affecting human health and the delivery of healthcare. Public outreach, climate communication, and education efforts focused on the intersection of climate and health are also appropriate for this call. This program supports work conceived through many kinds of creative thinking. Successful applicants include academic scientists, physicians, and public health experts, community organizations, science outreach centers, non-biomedical academic departments, and more.

Proposals will be accepted on a rolling basis through July 2026. A review will be conducted quarterly.

Deadline dates for the upcoming cycles are:

• July 24, 2025