Science & Education

As a research focused company, we have a firm commitment to promoting excellence in science, both internally, and through our innovation network which includes over 150 external partners.We also have a commitment to helping develop future scientists through educational programmes in health sciences in elementary schools, all the way through to the post-graduate level.

A long tradition of promoting basic research

Our support for independent research dates back to 1924, when Roche established one of Switzerland’s first private foundations to support young scientists. In the 1970s Roche founded the Roche Institute for Molecular Biology in the US and the Basel Institute for Immunology in Switzerland to support independent basic research in these areas. Scientists from both institutes have been honoured with major awards, including three Nobel prizes.

Other examples of our support for academic research include:

The Roche Research Foundation for Scientific Exchange and Biomedical Collaboration has been supporting young scientists engaged in biological or medical research since 1971. The Foundation continues to support immunological research through the Roche-endowed Chair for Immunology at the University of Basel.

Roche Organ Transplantation Research Foundation (ROTRF)
An independent, registered medical research charity established by Roche in 1998. Its mission is to advance the science of organ transplantation and improve transplant outcomes by funding research projects in areas relevant to clinical organ transplantation.  The ROTRF grant award programme focuses on clinical research specifically addressing problems in human organ transplantation and having a realistic potential for clinical application in the near term.  It aims to promote collaborative work between clinicians and researchers with grants awarded twice a year.

Roche Foundation for Anaemia Research (RoFAR)
An independent, scientist-led, and internationally active Medical Research Charity, founded in 2004. Although fully funded by Roche, the Foundation is legally independent. RoFAR supports ground breaking scientific research, both basic and clinical, investigating anaemia, erythropoietin and related topics. Applications for RoFAR grants are sought biannually from established members of academic staff at universities, hospitals and research centres. These are then assessed by the RoFAR Scientific Advisory Board. Award winners, who receive grants of up to 200,000 CHF each, are currently exploring key questions in nephrology, diabetology, haematology, oncology, ophthalmology, neurology and cardiology.
In addition to its regular research grants, RoFAR administers special grants for innovative proposals involving established researchers, which provide proof of principle for their project and/or research that has the potential to be transferred into clinical practice.

Preparing future leaders in science

Roche and Genentech Postdoctoral programmes
Roche’s Pharma Research and Early Development (pRED) organisation runs a program which gives individual scientists or groups within pRED the opportunity to fund postdoc positions.  Unlike other programs, applications for the Roche Postdoc Fellowship (RPF) Program can only be submitted from within the organisation and need to start with a demanding scientific proposal. A suitable candidate or collaboration partner is only chosen after the proposal is approved.
The RPF Program employs up to 100 postdoc fellows in Discovery Research, Translational Medicine and Early Development. It is one of Roche’s initiatives to meet the “talent challenge” and build the next decade’s scientific leadership. The focus of the RPF Program is on external collaborations to tighten the network with world-class teams in academia.
The RPF Program is not a hiring program. After the RPF tenure, postdocs would typically seek employment outside Roche. However, approximately 10 % per year of Postdocs from the RPF program can be hired into existing open positions.

Roche MBA Fellowship programme
Provides grants to encourage talented scientists to complement their medical or science qualifications by studying business in an international setting.

Science Honors Innovation Program
Roche Nutley funded the establishment of the Science Honors Innovation Program (SHIP) at Montclair State University, a keystone of the state university system. The goal of SHIP is to create an annual cohort of highly skilled graduates trained and fully prepared for careers in innovative science.  Undergraduates enrolled in any of the five disciplines within the College of Math and Science can apply for this two-year, upper level honors program. Students receive special mentoring, training and opportunities to assist them with the generation of an innovative research study that yields an honors thesis and offers insight into the process of innovation and research.  

Proyecto Science
Proyecto Science is a pre-college STEM enrichment program offered free of cost to middle and high school students from underserved communities in New Jersey.  For six weeks each summer, more than 200 students participate in STEM based programming at a local university, strengthening their academic skills, and preparing them for college and careers in science and technology.  The program, supported by Roche’s Nutley R&D campus runs in a three year cycle, with students successfully completing the first year invited back for the following two sessions.

Roche Continents
This week-long programme of workshops and concerts for 100 students of science, music and fine arts from all over Europe, is held annually in Salzburg Austria during the Salzburg Festival.  This unique event explores the common ground of creativity and innovation in the Arts and Science, through exchange of ideas, insights and creativity.

Other programmes

In the US, the Technical Training Project prepares young people from minority backgrounds for careers in science and technology, combining college courses with on-the-job training. Roche was a founding member of the project in 1968 and still provides financial support. Currently the 84th cohort of students is benefiting from the sponsorship.

In Switzerland we work closely with Schweizer Jugend forscht, a foundation that gives young people the chance to watch scientists at work and also sponsors competitions in which they can work on science projects of their own.

Roche affiliates support similar programmes in other countries.

Additional programmes can be found here.