Breakthrough Research
Grants Program

Overview

Established in 2020, the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute (GKII) at Johns Hopkins University advances its mission through the 5Cs—Convening, Coordinating, Communicating, Creating Community, and Catalysing efforts to create tangible societal impact.

The flagship Breakthrough Grants Program is a catalytic funding mechanism that provides competitive awards to junior faculty at JHU for collaborative research with Indian partners. Over four funding cycles, the program has supported pioneering initiatives in digital health, climate change, and non-communicable diseases, fostering collaborations with leading institutions such as IIT-Bombay, Koita Center for Digital Health (Ashoka University & IIT Bombay), the Department of Biotechnology (Government of India), and D.Y. Patil Medical University. Collectively, these grants have generated more than USD 300,000 in co-funding opportunities.

Objective of the Program

The breakthrough grants program supports JHU faculty pilot projects with cofounding possibilities with Indian partners. These small grants supporting the projects have an 18-month duration of funding. At is core the breakthrough grants program aims to fund pioneering ideas as an initial seed grant acknowledging the potential of the ideas to generate an estimated 4-fold larger funding for scale up through larger donors. Generally, the program funds 2-3 proposals for a total amount ranging between 50-60K USD in co-funding.

Context & Rationale

At its core, the program is designed to catalyze innovative research and nurture sustainable partnerships that address pressing scientific and societal challenges. Through this we aim to-

  • Collaboratively identify areas of scientific enquiry that hold promise for advancing knowledge and improving health and well-being in India and globally.
  • Provide catalytic co-funding that enables pilot projects to take root, with the expectation of scaling through larger external grants.
  • Support the development of new bi-lateral partnerships between JHU faculty and leading Indian institutions, fostering long-term academic, clinical, and research linkages.
  • Promote equitable research collaborations that ensure mutual benefit, shared leadership, and balanced contributions from all partners.
  • Provide mentorship and training opportunities for junior researchers and research staff, strengthening the next generation of scholars.
  • Generate research streams and evidence that inform practice, policy, and future funding priorities.
  • Support early career researchers, recognizing their critical role in shaping future scientific and academic leadership.

By integrating these objectives, the Breakthrough Research Grants Program is envisaged as a launchpad for pioneering ideas, creating a platform for JHU faculty and Koita Center for Digital Health (Ashoka University & IIT Bombay) to jointly drive scientific discovery and social impact.