Columbia University Awarded $2 Million to Support Postdoctoral Researchers Across the Natural Sciences

Columbia University has been awarded a $2 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to support 13 postdoctoral researchers working across a dozen laboratories in the natural sciences. The funding will strengthen Columbia’s postdoctoral training ecosystem and help sustain the scientific talent pipeline at a critical stage of early-career research.

The award was made through the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Commitment, a one-time initiative designed to recognize the essential role postdoctoral fellows play in advancing scientific discovery. The commitment provides targeted support to 30 leading U.S. research universities with long-standing engagement in the Foundation’s Science Program.

“Postdoctoral researchers are the engine of discovery in the natural sciences,” said Ruben Gonzalez, Dean of Natural Sciences at Columbia University. "This generous support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation allows us to invest directly in exceptional early-career scientists, giving them the resources and stability they need to pursue curiosity-driven research across disciplines.”

Columbia submitted a proposal in response to the Foundation’s invitation to receive $2 million in support of postdoctoral fellowships spanning the breadth of the natural sciences. The funded researchers work in areas aligned with the Foundation’s priorities, including physics, chemistry, biological sciences, biochemistry, microbiology, systems biology, and evolutionary biology.

“We are grateful for the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s support of our postdoctoral scholars,” said Stavros Lomvardas, Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “By investing in postdoctoral fellows across multiple labs and departments, this award will accelerate discovery and help train the next generation of scientific leaders.”

The grant underscores Columbia’s longstanding partnership with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and its shared commitment to sustaining excellence and innovation in scientific research.