The Principal Investigator must be someone who:
1. Performs research relevant to the biomedical sciences and holds an M.D., Ph.D., Sc.D., M.D./Ph.D., DDM, DVM, or equivalent degree;
2. Leads an independent research laboratory — defined as having control of its budget, grants, and space — in a university, medical school, or nonprofit research institution in the U.S. or a U.S. territory; and
3. Started their first independent laboratory no earlier than January 1, 2012.
The grantee institution must agree to the requirements described in the CZI Institutional Approval Form and must sign the form as part of the application process. Applications may be submitted by U.S. and U.S. territory nonprofit organizations, public and private institutions such as colleges, universities or hospitals, and eligible agencies of federal, state, or local government. For-profit organizations are not eligible. Grants will be awarded to institutions, not individuals. Grants will either be funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Foundation (CZIF) or recommended for funding through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Donor-Advised Fund (CZI DAF) at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF).
A grant of $1.15 million total costs will be disbursed by CZI over a five-year period ($230,000 total costs per year, inclusive of 15 percent for indirect costs/overhead) to the institution that employs the Principal Investigator who leads the project. Direct costs ($200,000 per year) can be used to support both the research of the Principal Investigator and their outreach, mentoring, and teaching activities.