Programs

Alliance-Building Research

Some challenges are too big for any single institution. GRA orchestrates research initiatives that unite universities, healthcare systems, industry and state government around a shared goal.

How It Works

Each initiative follows the model GRA has refined for three decades.

Recruit the mindpower

World-class scientists are recruited to lead the effort, joining the Academy of GRA Scholars and anchoring a coordinated research program across institutions.

Equip the labs

Crucial pieces of technology and instrumentation are added where the research needs them, building on Georgia's shared core-facility network.

Translate to clinic and market

Clinical partners evaluate new approaches, and companies are seeded and shaped around high-potential inventions emerging from the labs.

GRA's Role

Having a nonprofit like GRA gives Georgia's leadership a ready-made resource to address critical issues. When the state sees an opportunity that spans institutions, GRA can assemble the researchers, the labs, the clinical partners and the funding to pursue it.

Georgia's public and private universities collaborate in extraordinary ways because of GRA. Whether sharing equipment or partnering on big research projects, we've created a level of cooperation that is unmatched by any other state. That cooperation is often critical when competing for federal research funding, where the strongest proposals draw on the strengths of multiple institutions.

Two examples show what this looks like in practice: a statewide initiative to solve sickle cell disease, and an initiative that puts Georgia's students to work in university research labs.

Solve Sickle Cell Initiative

Georgia's Solve Sickle Cell Initiative aims to leverage the state's considerable strengths in university research and healthcare to break new ground in knowledge, treatment and cures. Organized and executed by GRA, the five-year, $16 million endeavor unites Morehouse School of Medicine, Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, adding recruited research talent, lab infrastructure, and clinical and market translation.

Inside the initiative

Workforce Development Initiative

To keep Georgia's economy strong and growing, Georgia students must gain the knowledge and experience that prepares them for careers in science, technology, engineering, math and medicine (STEMM). GRA's Workforce Development Initiative creates opportunities to introduce more students at Georgia colleges to STEMM through university research: semester-long lab internships alongside top scientists, sponsorship to attend academic conferences, and a postdoctoral fellowship pilot.