On Sept. 28, 2026, Harvard University announces a $150 million strategic research initiative is seeking to bolster pioneering Harvard work in areas ripe for breakthroughs, including neuroscience, immunology, quantum, artificial intelligence, and energy and climate.

The $150 million initiative, which represents one of Harvard’s largest direct investments in research, will fund promising avenues of inquiry in both basic and applied science, and fuel the creativity of the University’s exceptional scientists and researchers. Projects will address critical questions in science, engineering, and related fields, and have the potential to grow and attract external funding.

The broad-based initiative recognizes that the research funding environment for higher education has shifted dramatically since early 2025, but builds on groundwork laid by the University over many years.

Harvard Senior Vice Provost for Research John Shaw said that the initiative recognizes the University’s commitment to sustained investment in promising areas of discovery, regardless of shifts in federal funding. This is a different intent, he said, than the funding the University made available for research in 2025, which sought to support continuity during difficult and disruptive months following steps by the government to terminate Harvard’s grants.

Court victories have helped sustain the flow of federal research funding to Harvard, while Congress has also maintained federal funding for research nationally. However, the pace of new awards to research institutions across the country, including Harvard, has declined substantially.