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The program in biomedical research policy is devoted to strengthening basic research through support of programs at key institutions in New York and Israel, and to fostering international cooperation on science in the Middle East.

Basic research is a complex endeavor that may take years or decades to produce results. It requires both talented, highly trained scientists and a significant, sustained commitment of funds. At a time of radical change in the US health care system and congressionally mandated fiscal constraints, however, as The New York Times noted, "Biomedical research, long considered a cornerstone of American medicine, threatens to become a silent casualty."

The Foundation's funding of postdoctoral fellowships at four outstanding New York biomedical research centers, begun in the early 1980s, represents one response to the need for sustained support. The fellowships are aimed at young scientists, enabling them to embark on research careers instead of private practice or industry, which may be more immediately lucrative. The programs also provide the institutions with a source of funds that they can apply to areas they identify as priorities for research.

In Israel, biomedical science contributes not only to the advance of medicine worldwide but also to an increasingly important science-based Israeli industry. Following severe cutbacks in Israeli research funding, the Foundation in 1987 made a challenge grant that led to substantial government and private contributions and the establishment, in 1993, of the Israel National Science Foundation, to provide a steady source of funding and an efficient mechanism for competitively awarding research grants. To further stimulate innovation, the Foundation in this grant period helped launch an initiative to support research in promising fields that are new or have been neglected in Israel.

Cooperation on scientific issues facing Israel and its neighbors can help to further, as well as benefit from, greater stability in the region. Since the 1980s the Foundation has contributed to efforts to bring together scientists to discuss issues of mutual concern. As the possibility of peace in the Middle East emerged in the early 1990s, these initiatives involved participants from Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, and the Palestinians, who came together to identify and investigate areas where they could work together.

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