Pittsburgh’s vaunted medical-research sector – like its cross-state antipode, Philadelphia – took a hit when it was swept up in mass grant cancellations by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Two University of Pittsburgh grants worth a combined $4.5 million were axed, ending investigations into post-ICU patient care and pain relief for patients with advanced cancer. So it was welcome news that the Richard King Mellon Foundation just pledged $25 million to launch a Pittsburgh-based rare-disease research hub. The organization, Rare Ventures, will leverage “venture philanthropy” to fast-track the kinds of medical breakthroughs for which the Steel City has long been, in the words of a Mellon trustee, “an epicenter.”
Keep reading for more winners and losers!