About Our Work
We believe the science of prevention has the power to improve and save billions of lives.
The United States spends $5.3 trillion on health care each year, and less than 3% goes toward prevention. Health systems around the world excel at treating illness even as they struggle to prevent it.
The Atria Research and Global Health Institute, a 501(c)(3), was created to change that. We conduct original research into the causes and prevention of chronic disease — from hypertension and cognitive impairment to Parkinson’s and long COVID. We create and disseminate free digital content designed to put the best of modern preventive medicine within reach of anyone, anywhere. And we partner with boots-on-the-ground public health organizations to deliver proven interventions to the communities that need them most.
We do this through original research into the causes and prevention of chronic disease; free digital content designed to put the best of modern preventive medicine within reach of anyone, anywhere; and through partnerships with boots-on-the-ground public health organizations.
The tools to prevent and manage many chronic diseases — from hypertension and dementia to Parkinson’s and long COVID — already exist. The problem is reach. On average, medical breakthroughs take 17 years to make their way into everyday clinical practice, while preventable chronic diseases account for 75% of deaths and health care costs in the United States. That gap between what’s possible in medicine and what’s practiced in the real world costs lives.
We’re building the infrastructure to close it. Because we know what becomes possible when researchers, clinicians, partners, and communities align around a single, powerful idea.
Our Approach
Science advances fastest when researchers, clinicians, educators, and communities work together. We’ve built our organization around that belief — bringing together leading researchers, world-class institutions, and implementation partners around a single goal: turning the science of prevention into real-world impact.
As an independent nonprofit, we operate without the constraints that often slow progress — allowing us to study what works, implement it in real communities, and scale it quickly.
The scientific core of that work is the Atria Academy of Science and Medicine, a network of more than 100 leading researchers and experts across six continents, united by a shared commitment to turning scientific discovery into real-world impact.
We bolster that work through partnerships with institutions including MIT, Mass General Hospital, and the American Heart Association, among many more — bringing additional reach, resources, and expertise to the work.
Our efforts span the full continuum — from longitudinal research and data collection to implementation across the globe. When we find what works, we expand it.
Impact
Our first area of focus was hypertension because it is the leading cause of death worldwide — and because the science of how to prevent and treat it is well established. The opportunity was clear: take what medicine already knows and get it to the people who need it most.
With our first $1.7 million investment, we have reached more than 250,000 people across New York State, Bangladesh, and Indonesia — working in firehouses and barbershops, community health clinics, and rural villages, alongside partners including the American Heart Association and Resolve to Save Lives, founded by former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden.
Our hypertension program improved blood pressure control dramatically, proving that the science of prevention, properly delivered, can transform health outcomes at scale.
This is modern medicine working exactly as it can and should — research translated into action, action delivered at scale, and outcomes that improve and save lives. It’s a model we’re building on, across conditions and communities worldwide.
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The Atria Research and Global Health Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to making modern medicine universally accessible. It is supported by Atria and other donors to advance initiatives in research, education, and public health.