The Chicago CARE Symposium was part of a national conversation led by the Doris Duke Foundation, titled “Strengthening Pathways”. Find out more below.

Chicago CARE is part of the national conversation "Strengthening Pathways"

Strengthening Pathways is a national conversation focused on identifying opportunities to better translate innovations from prevention and care research to maximize societal benefits, comprised of 18 symposia occurring across the country in the spring and summer of 2025. Supported by a collective of leading funders of health research in the U.S., these symposia will illuminate strategies to connect societal health priorities with research ideas, funding models, policies and commercial incentives to improve health outcomes. The aim is to create a blueprint for action that can shape new funding models, policy changes and industry investments to promote health innovations that prevent disease and improve outcomes of clinical care.

About the Collective to Strengthen Pathways for Health Research

The Doris Duke Foundation, together with American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Dana Foundation, Donaghue Foundation, Prebys Foundation, Robertson Foundation, Susan G. Komen, and additional philanthropic partners are the Collective to Strengthen Pathways for Health Research. The Collective is seeking to bring greater attention and resources for breakthrough health research to improve how we prevent and address disease. Our current activities are focused on elevating voices and ideas to help define an actionable blueprint for progress.

The goals of Chicago CARE are:

CONVENE DIVERSE INTERESTHOLDERS

Convene diverse stakeholders across Chicagoland to optimize incentive alignment for addressing complex health needs through research funding, clinical practice, economic models, and cross-sector collaborations. Develop a research prioritization model focused on upstream disease prevention and secure support for alternative incentives that foster cross-sector research partnerships.

CREATE A BLUEPRINT FOR ACTION

Develop a blueprint for action in Chicagoland by aligning research universities, healthcare centers, community organizations, and private funders. Through working groups after a symposium, create policy recommendations to enhance research, clinical practice, and patient care while designing a philanthropic funding model to bridge federal and state gaps and promote cross-sector collaboration.