News

In June, the Foundation’s Board of Directors awarded grants to thirteen Research institutions, totaling $16.2 million. Abstracts for these grants have been released. Congratulations to all our grantees this cycle!

In a project funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation, Mohammed Hassan’s group at the University of Arizona generated the first attosecond electron pulses to develop the fastest electron microscope to date, which can image the motion of electrons in real time and space. As a first demonstration the researchers were able to image the electron motion in graphene. Attomicroscopy, is the new camera for capturing the invisible quantum world. Additionally, attomicroscopy in combination with cryo-electron microscopy, could be used to study the electronic response in biological systems.  In particular, electron tunneling in DNA, which drives changes in the conformation DNA, crucial to understanding carcinogenesis and mutagenesis mechanisms and processes that repair DNA damage. Attomicroscopy would also help investigate the potential of using biological molecules as building blocks for a new realm of molecular electronics in bioinformatics.

The W. M. Keck Foundation awarded Charles Drew University a $3 Million grant for a new state-of-the art health professions education building that will house the University’s medical degree program.

The W. M. Keck Foundation has launched a new application portal for the Southern California Program’s application. Applicants will need to create a new account before starting the application. If you have questions about account creation, please contact portalhelp@wmkeck.org. Detailed application instructions are available for download on the Southern California Application Process page.

In December, the Foundation’s Board of Directors awarded grants to five organizations in Southern California, totaling $2 million. Abstracts for these grants have been released. Congratulations to all our grantees this cycle!