American Asthma Foundation

The American Asthma Foundation was established in 1999 as a nonprofit grant program devoted to basic research on asthma. Its stated objectives were broad: improve treatment, prevent asthma, and contribute to the search for a cure. Unlike a medical practice or a commercial healthcare company, AAF operated primarily by allocating philanthropic funds to scientific investigators. The foundation developed a distinctive funding strategy. Nearly all of its grants went to scientists who had not previously worked in asthma research. The intent was to bring new perspectives into the field by recruiting investigators whose experience lay in other branches of biomedical science or related disciplines. AAF's model assumed that researchers could transfer useful experimental techniques, conceptual frameworks, and discoveries from other fields to unresolved questions about asthma. This emphasis made the organization different from a conventional specialist funder that primarily supports established asthma laboratories. AAF used a scientific review board to evaluate potential projects and decide which research would receive support. The board covered a broad range of scientific disciplines and was made up largely of scientists from outside the asthma-research community. Its composition reflected the foundation's belief that independent, cross-disciplinary evaluation could identify promising ideas that might otherwise be overlooked within a narrowly defined research network. During its operating period, AAF described itself as the largest private funder of asthma research. Its cumulative grantmaking exceeded $110 million and reached 182 scientists. These figures represent the organization's reported historical research awards; the available sources do not provide a year-by-year breakdown, grant-size distribution, or details about individual projects. They also should not be interpreted as revenue or commercial sales. In 2019, after roughly two decades of funding basic asthma research, the foundation suspended funding for new grants. The available reference material does not explain the reason for the suspension and does not clearly characterize the organization as dissolved. Therefore, the foundation's current operating status cannot be established from the available sources. Its documented legacy is a philanthropic funding model that sought to expand the asthma research pipeline by bringing investigators and ideas from outside the field into fundamental asthma science.

• 2019

  New grant funding suspended

  [1]American Asthma Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Following approximately twenty years of basic-research funding, AAF suspended funding for new grants.

• 1999

  Foundation established

  [1]American Asthma Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  The American Asthma Foundation was established as a nonprofit grant program supporting basic research focused on asthma.

A specialized philanthropic research funder positioned around high-risk, cross-disciplinary basic science and the recruitment of accomplished investigators from outside the traditional asthma-research field.

• Scientific philanthropy · 1999

  AAF research grant program

  The foundation's principal offering was a grant program for basic asthma research. Funding was directed primarily to investigators who had not previously studied asthma, with the goal of importing expertise and methods from other scientific fields. Grants supported research intended to deepen understanding of asthma and create foundations for improved treatment, prevention, and eventual curative approaches.

• Research governance

  Scientific review board

  AAF's scientific review board assessed proposed research projects and selected the work supported by the foundation. The board represented multiple disciplines and was composed largely of scientists from outside the established asthma-research field, reinforcing the organization's cross-disciplinary funding strategy.

• 2019

  Suspended new grant fundingStrategy

  Background

  After about twenty years of funding basic asthma research, the foundation reached a point at which it no longer funded new grants.

  Action taken

  AAF suspended funding for new grants in 2019.

  Aftermath

  The available source does not state whether the suspension was temporary, permanent, or connected to a broader organizational transition.

  Source

• 1999

  Adopted an outside-investigator funding modelStrategy

  Background

  AAF was established with a strategy centered on bringing new scientific perspectives into asthma research rather than relying mainly on established asthma specialists.

  Action taken

  The foundation directed nearly all grant funding to scientists who had not previously studied asthma and used a multidisciplinary review board to assess proposed projects.

  Aftermath

  The approach became the defining feature of AAF's grantmaking and was associated with cumulative awards of more than $110 million to 182 scientists.

  Cumulative grant awards. More than $110,000,000 (Cumulative operating period through the reported historical grant program)

  Source

• 2019

  American Asthma Foundation suspended funding for new grants[1]American Asthma Foundationen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  After about twenty years of funding basic asthma research, the American Asthma Foundation stopped accepting or funding new grants. The available reference does not specify whether the action was temporary or permanent.

1. 1American Asthma Foundationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2American Asthma Foundation official websiteamericanasthmafoundation.org