Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Mohseni Foundation

Mohseni Foundation, also referred to as the Mohammad H. Mohseni Charitable Foundation, is a private philanthropic foundation that channels significant resources into health and education. Based in Richmond, British Columbia, it focuses on advancing clinical research, training and education, and community well-being in both Canadian and Iranian contexts. The foundation operates primarily as a discretionary funder, partnering with hospitals, universities and community organizations rather than running open call competitions.

A flagship initiative is the creation and long‑term support of the M. H. Mohseni Institute of Urologic Sciences within the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. This includes a transformational $20 million gift to the VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation’s Urologic Sciences campaign, enabling the development of multiple specialized centres in prostate cancer, kidney stones, functional urology, transplantation, reproductive health and adolescent urology.

The foundation has funded multi‑year fellowships and research roles at leading health institutions. Examples include a three‑year post‑doctoral fellowship in men’s health research at the Vancouver Prostate Centre, the Mohammad H. Mohseni Chair in Men’s Health at Vancouver General Hospital, and support for urology research at BC Children’s Hospital for juvenile urologic disease. It has also backed glaucoma and eye‑care research at Vancouver General Hospital and a fellowship at St. Paul’s Sinus Centre.

These investments typically cover core funding for research programs, training of specialists, and development of evidence‑based interventions that can be translated directly to improved patient care.

Beyond clinical research, Mohseni Foundation funds humanities and community‑based projects. It has supported post‑doctoral fellowships and scholarly publications in Iranian Studies at Canadian universities, including the University of Toronto and Persian Studies programs, as well as the publication of the journal and magazine Diyar and Between Us. In the community sector, it has assisted organizations such as the BC International Senior Society and the Canadian Iranian Foundation, contributing to legal stability, programming and social services for Iranian communities in Vancouver.

The foundation’s grants primarily benefit patients in British Columbia through improved diagnostics and treatments, academics and trainees in medicine and Iranian Studies, and members of Iranian and broader Canadian communities through social and educational programs. Its model centres on building long‑term institutional partnerships, endowing positions and institutes, and seeding initiatives that foster sustainable, systemic improvements in health and education.