The Dean’s Fund for Scientific Advancement

Supporting research from early ideas to public health breakthroughs

About the Program

Now in its fifth year, this internal funding program strives to continue expanding opportunities for scientific advancement, pedagogical innovation and transdisciplinary collaboration across the Harvard Chan School.

The funding mechanisms that comprise the DFSA are designed to facilitate the exploration of early ideas, the development of strong interdisciplinary team science, and the creation of new research collaborations that advance the frontiers of science.

Please see the descriptions of each mechanism below with links to more detailed application instructions.

Public Health Pedagogy Award

The Public Health Pedagogy Award is intended to improve the quality of teaching and learning at the School through local innovations that can transfer to other contexts either by being a model for other parts of the School or by being scaled after a successful pilot.
New deadlines to be announced

Incubation Award

Incubation Awards are designed to support innovative ideas of particular promise in addressing key public health challenges.
New deadlines to be announced

Acceleration Award

Acceleration Awards are designed to cultivate collaborative/transdisciplinary research and develop cross-cutting research platforms.
New deadlines to be announced

Activation Award

Activation Awards (formerly Career Incubator Fund) are designed to seed and support idea generation for junior tenure-track faculty that hold primary appointments at the Harvard Chan School (Assistant and Associate Professors).
New deadlines to be announced