Since 2005, our Seed Grant Program has fostered an environment for research to bloom. As we mark 20 years since our first cohort of grantees, it is more exciting than ever to look back and see all that is being accomplished.
In 2010, the Hirshberg Foundation awarded a Seed Grant to Dr. David Gius at a critical juncture. Having just transitioned from a decade-long position at the NCI’s Radiation Oncology Branch to an extramural academic role, Dr. Gius faced the challenge of building a new research program with limited resources. The Seed Grant arrived at exactly the right time. It provided essential support to reignite his research and build momentum in his new laboratory.
Today, Dr. Gius holds multiple leadership positions at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio. As Assistant Dean for Research and Associate Cancer Center Director at the Mays Cancer Center, he champions institutional research growth, mentorship, and collaboration. Through the Francisco Cigarroa Research and Grant Writing Academy, he has helped mentor junior faculty and strengthen grant writing submissions, contributing to an institutional rise in NIH funding from $73 million in 2020 to $120 million in 2025. His commitment to training and guiding the next generation of researchers is a testament to the exponential power of a Seed Grant; it is an investment in not only the project but the career of the recipient, with the hope that it will flourish.
Dr. Gius leads multiple projects funded through the National Institute of Health (NIH) and Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) which focus on mitochondrial biology, metabolic disruption, and lineage plasticity in treatment-resistant cancers. His translational work brings the field closer to understanding how therapies fail and how we might overcome those failures.
Reflecting on the Seed Grant, Dr. Gius shared, “The Hirshberg grant was so very helpful, it allowed me to really ramp up research. I have been so lucky in my career and the Seed Grant was a launching point.”
This is exactly what Seed Grants are meant to do, ignite progress where it might otherwise stall. But progress at the bench must reach beyond discovery. To deliver breakthroughs to patients, we must fund more than the start, we must fund the path forward.
As we celebrate 20 years of launching scientific careers, now is the time to sustain and expand this mission. Greater investment will ensure that ideas like Dr. Gius’s continue to grow, translate into breakthroughs, and reach the patients who need them most.
