Research grant

John's Research Grant is a subject of interest that is mentioned in both Hence These Tears and Salvation and seems to be indirectly the catalyst for a number of character interactions in both series.

Hence These Tears
The Grant is mentioned briefly a number of times during the course of Hence These Tears, most notably during an early scene between John and his mother. He indicates that he's having difficulty with the grant, with the implication that he may be on the verge of losing it, or otherwise exhausting funds. Although the subject of the Grant is never mentioned, he does mention that he is conducting Cancer research. Nothing further is mentioned about it beyond that. When asked about it by his mother, he indicates that part of the issue is that "someone" is attempting to co-opt his research by buying out the grant.

Thoughout Hence These Tears, the issue of the grant exists as an additonal stress on John. It is later implied that issues pertainting to the grant have been weighing heavily on him for some time, and are, in part, the source of some of the stress between him and Alisson.

Salvation
The issue of the research grant is elaborated on a bit more in the fourth episode of Salvation, when Alisson reveals that the Grant was bought out by Gideon Cryter and The Dabareh Corporation. Although she seems to indicate that John was not happy with being forced to work for the company, by the end of the series, it seems as if John has become their Director of Special Projects.

Since the Director is in charge of all research pertaining to The Event and San Jose, it is reasonable to assume that John's research may have been related to Westryn's Genome Initiative.