Enabling the next generation of leaders

Black male scientist

The Beacon of Hope collaboration works to empower the next generation of healthcare leaders.

  • Thurgood Marshall College Fund-Novartis US Foundation HBCU Scholarship Program – Over a period of 10 years, TMCF and the Novartis US Foundation will award 360 three-year scholarships of USD 10 000 (per year) to students at participating HBCUs. The first cohort of students is completing their three-year scholarships awarded by TMCF and the Novartis US Foundation in 2025.  
  • Thurgood Marshall College Fund-Novartis HBCU Mentorship Program – Each scholarship recipient will be paired with a Novartis mentor to help them navigate their academic career and prepare for their professional future. This mentorship program will also be open to select students who were not awarded scholarships. To date, the mentorship program has engaged approximately 200 mentees and 200 mentors, comprised of both scholarship recipients as well as those not receiving funding. 
  • Thurgood Marshall College Fund-Novartis US Foundation HBCU Faculty Grants – TMCF and Novartis will award USD 25 000 grants per year/over ten years to HBCU faculty for research substantiating key drivers of poor health outcomes and informing areas for change. To date, the TMCF-Novartis program has awarded eighteen grants since the launch of Beacon of Hope.
  • Beacon of Hope Summer Fellowship at Novartis BioMedical Research – Novartis Biomedical Research is offering a recurring 10-week paid summer fellowship program for HBCU medical students, to learn drug discovery, data analytics and clinical research practices. These programs are expected to continue annually for 10 years, with the goal of training up to 250 scientific leaders.
  • Coursera virtual training courses – Novartis and Coursera launched a three course series to provide beginner level training on Good Clinical Practice Principles for Ethical Clinical Trials. This series provides trial investigators and clinical researchers with a basic understanding of clinical trial best practices. Course modules include “Introduction to Good Clinical Practice,” “The Fundamentals of Good Clinical Practice” and “Diversity Action Plans and Public Health Outreach.”

Supporting the establishment of clinical trial Centers of Excellence

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Centers of Excellence were established with the goal of developing self-sustaining clinical trial centers, training new principal investigators and trial managers, and improving the quality of clinical trials to meet the needs of patients served by HBCUs.

  • The Novartis US Foundation has invested approximately 31.4 million USD to establish four clinical trial Centers of Excellence at Morehouse School of Medicine, Howard University College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. These centers will ensure that all patients have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials.
  • Together, these four centers will collectively strengthen clinical trial capabilities and the potential for those trials to improve health outcome for underserved communities.

Supporting research on barriers to healthcare

Black female doctor

In addition to promoting representative clinical trials, Beacon of Hope has created two additional Centers of Excellence at Morehouse School of Medicine.

  • The Center of Excellence on Digital Health Technologies and Clinical Algorithms will examine diagnostic and digital health tools to improve diagnostic and other healthcare decision making and to ensure the best outcomes for all patients.
  • The Center of Excellence on Climate and Health will advance research and find actionable solutions focused on reducing the impact of the environment and climate on community health.

Our Collaborators

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Novartis and the Novartis US Foundation have welcomed like-minded companies and organizations into the long-term collaborative effort. We are proud to collaborate with the following organizations to co-create effective, measurable solutions for reducing barriers to healthcare access:

  • Historically Black Medical Schools: Morehouse School of Medicine, Howard University School of Medicine, Meharry Medical College and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
  • 26 additional Historically Black Colleges and Universities
  • Thurgood Marshall College Fund
  • The National Medical Association
  • Coursera
  • The Global Black Economic Forum
  • Sanofi, Merck, Amgen, Alnylam
  • Advarra, Virb, BeeKeeperAI