research Grants
Funding Innovative Breakthroughs And Personal Successes
The Charles H. Hood Foundation is different from most medical research philanthropies by virtue of the people and projects the organization funds. While pediatric-related health projects may be a component of other organizations, the Hood Foundation is singularly focused on improving the health and well-being of children. In the projects supported, The Hood Foundation seeks out cutting edge research and initiatives in the critical phases of development that may have higher risk, but also have the potential for greater impact.
By choosing among the best and brightest researchers in the New England area and funding the promising research that other funding entities might reject, the Hood Foundation facilitates more innovative breakthroughs and individual successes. Hood Grant awardees go on to become leaders in their field and are positioned to more likely secure outside funding on future projects. The Foundation looks to fill gaps in the medical research and innovation funding marketplace to springboard the next generation of cutting-edge scientific leaders and advancements in pediatric health.
Applications are now open for the September 2026 Funding Cycle
For more information, please email Info@CharlesHoodFoundation.org.
PAST AWARDEE SPOTLIGHTS
What does the impact of a Hood award look like years down the road? In our Past Awardee Spotlight, we reconnect with researchers whose careers and impact on children’s health have been shaped by Hood Foundation’s early investment. The lessons they’ve learned, the doors that opened, and the lives they’ve touched tell a story far bigger than any single grant. Our alumni prove that the right support at the right time can change everything. Their journeys are a powerful reminder of why investing in promising researchers isn’t just a grant but a catalyst to improve child health.
Dr. Dimitrios Iliopoulos
Co-founder and CEO of Athos Therapeutics
2011 Child Health Research Award - Identification of Novel Molecular Circuits in Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis
What happens when a bold scientific idea meets exactly the right support at exactly the right moment? For Dr. Dimitrios Iliopoulos, it set off a chain reaction that reached all the way to the clinic. Backed by a Hood award early in his career, he pursued what was then a controversial systems biology approach to unraveling pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease. In this interview, he reflects on the lessons that shaped his career, the power of letting data lead the way, and what he would tell every early-career investigator who’s ever been told their idea is too risky to pursue.
Read Our Spotlight on Dr. Dimitrios Iliopoulos
Institutions Funded by the Hood Child Health Research Program 2005-2025
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston Children’s Hospital
Boston College
Boston Medical Center
Boston University
Brandeis University
Brigham and Woman’s Hospital
Brown University
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Harvard School of Dental Medicine
Harvard School of Public Health
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MGH Center for Regenerative Medicine
Northeastern University
Rhode Island Hospital
Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Slone Epidemiology Center
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Tufts Medical Center
Tufts University School of Medicine
University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut Health Center
University of Massachusetts Amherst
University of Massachusetts Medical School
University of Vermont, College of Medicine
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Yale School of Medicine
Yale University
Where Are They Now?
Charles Hood Child Health & Major Grant Award Recipients have gone on to become leaders in advancing pediatric health.
Charles Hood Child Health & Major Grant Award Recipients
2016-Present
Hood Alumni in notable leadership positions
Former Hood awardees have served in an impressive array of leadership positions, including the following:
Nancy C. Andrews, MD, PhD
First female Dean of Medicine, Duke University
Scott A. Armstrong, MD, PhD
Chair of Pediatric Oncology, DFCI & Associate
Chief of Hematology/Oncology, Boston Children’s Hospital
Diane W. Bianchi, MD
Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Jan L. Breslow, MD
Lab Chief at Rockefeller University & former President of the American Heart Association
F. Sessions Cole, MD
Director of Newborn Medicine, Washington University & Chief Medical Officer, St. Louis Children’s Hospital
R. Alan Ezekowitz, MD, PhD
Former Chief of Pediatric Services, MGH
Raif S. Geha, MD
Chief of Immunology, Boston Children’s Hospital
Robert J. Haggerty, MD
Former Chief of Pediatrics, University of Rochester Medical Center
Margaret K. Hostetter, MD
Former Chief of Pediatrics, Yale School of Medicine
Wayne I. Lencer, MD
Chief of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Boston Children’s Hospital
Ellis J. Neufeld, MD, PhD
Clinical Director, Physician-in-Chief and Executive VP of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Peter E. Newburger, MD
Chief of Peditric Hematology/Oncology UMass Medical School
David H. Perlmutter, MD
Dean, Washington University School of Medicine & former Chair of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh
Fred S. Rosen, MD
Former Chief of Immunology, Boston Children’s Hospital
Mitchell J. Weiss, MD, PhD
Chair of Hematology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
David A. Williams, MD
Chief of Hematology,/Oncology, Senior Vice President & Chief Scientific Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and President, Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center