Science is at the crux of many of the 21st century’s greatest challenges—and will be an integral part of their solutions. Research and innovation could address threats posed by global warming and by human actions that have depleted the oceans and despoiled the wilderness. At the same time, advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology and genetics hold considerable promise for improving areas from human health to the food supply. Yet these emerging technologies raise questions about appropriate oversight of potential environmental and health risks. 

Pew invests in an array of programs related to science that are aimed at improving the quality of scientific research as well as making data widely available. These projects are working toward solutions to environmental, health and safety dilemmas. We also have a decades-long commitment to support groundbreaking research by biomedical researchers early in their careers.

All of these initiatives are part of our broader effort to study and promote nonpartisan policy solutions for pressing and emerging problems affecting the American public and the global community. Pew’s experts partner with leading authorities in science, the environment and associated fields to conduct research and advance fact-based solutions to compelling problems.

Pew targets the frontiers of scientific knowledge where we can make a difference. These efforts include the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University, which focuses on the challenges related to reproductive genetics; the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, which explores what many call the next industrial revolution; the Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, which promoted appropriate oversight of genetically modified animals and plants; Pew’s biomedical scholars and fellows programs for early- and mid-career researchers; as well as our wide body of work in global climate change, marine research and wilderness protection.

For more information about our activities in this area, please view our Fact Sheet.