Genentech Foundation provides $3 million grant to ACS Bridge Project

The American Chemical Society has received a $3.015 million grant from the Genentech Foundation to support the ACS Bridge Project through 2023. The project aims to boost the number of students from underrepresented minority groups earning chemistry-related PhDs to match the number of those in these groups who currently receive bachelor’s degrees in the field.

The Genentech Foundation’s grant will support new ACS Bridge fellows, students from underrepresented groups pursuing chemical sciences advanced degrees, and ACS Bridge sites, university departments that have demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion. It will also fund new resources for the project, including professional development boot camps for undergraduate students and career workshops and conferences for graduate students and postdocs. The grant will also support a new online learning and networking platform and a full-time postdoc who will help ACS evaluate the project.

“The ACS Bridge Project helps unlock the potential of rising scientists who are the future of biomedical research,” says Carla Boragno, Genentech Foundation board chair and senior vice president and global head of engineering and facilities, Genetech and Roche. “We are proud to partner with ACS to help dismantle barriers preventing underrepresented students from pursuing careers in science and medicine.”

Launched in 2018, the ACS Bridge Project is part of the Inclusive Graduate Education Network, a national alliance of five scientific societies aimed at increasing the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in graduate education in the physical sciences.