From First Grant to Lifelong Impact
Early Career Investment Drives Discovery
Early-stage funding is the inflection point in medical innovation — where promising ideas either gain momentum or stall. In 2025, the ISHLT Foundation made targeted investments to ensure acceleration.
For many early-career investigators, this support represents their first opportunity to secure dedicated research funding and protected time. These awards often become the catalyst for sustained research programs, multicenter collaboration, mentorship of trainees, and future leadership within the global transplant community.
Why Your Support Matters
Each year, thousands of patients around the world receive a second chance at life through heart and lung transplantation. However, the journey from diagnosis to recovery is complex, and there is still much to learn and improve upon. The ISHLT Foundation is committed to leading the way in this effort by providing important grants and awards to investigators on the brink of changing the field. Your contributions will have a direct impact, supporting initiatives such as:
- The Francis D. Pagani, MD Endowed Mentorship Award – Recognizes mentorship of clinicians, educators or researchers dedicated to the treatment of advanced heart and lung disease.
- Career Development Grants – Empowering early-career clinician-scientists to pursue innovative research.
- Research Grants – Supporting bold, high-impact projects that could shape the future of care.
Advancing science. Improving lives—together
The ISHLT Foundation is building more than a grant portfolio — it is building a permanent infrastructure for innovation. Many senior leaders in transplantation today received early support from ISHLT programs. The Foundation is committed to restoring and expanding these career-launching grants as endowment growth continues.
By strengthening the endowment and expanding philanthropic partnerships, we ensure that:
- Early-stage ideas receive critical support
- Emerging leaders are empowered • Research momentum is sustained
- Patients worldwide benefit from continuous advancement Your partnership today shapes care and transplantation tomorrow.
Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a profound difference. Together, we can transform the future of heart and lung transplantation—and save lives. Your support will not only drive progress in heart and lung transplantation but also provide hope to patients and families around the world.
To learn more about the ISHLT Foundation, please visit our website.
Interested in other ways to give? Click here for information about:
- Become a ISHLT Foundation Circle Donor
- Become an ISHLT Foundation Sustaining Donor
- Institutional Giving
- Set Up a Pledge Installment Plan
- Pay by Check
- ACH/Direct Bank Transfer
For further assistance or more information, please contact us at foundation@ishlt.org or +1-312-224-1277.
On behalf of the ISHLT Foundation, thank you for your kindness and generosity. We are thankful for donors like you every day.
The ISHLT Foundation Team
Donations to the ISHLT Foundation support research and educational programs aimed at improving care for patients with advanced heart and lung disease. The ISHLT Foundation is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization, tax number 36-3142246. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by U.S. law.