BWH Health & Technology Innovation Fund

• All members of the BWH research community including BWH professional staff (ex. Nurses and other clinicians) and faculty members with instructor rank and above are invited to apply. Administrative staff are invited to apply with a letter of approval/support from a direct or indirect supervisor
• Individuals may serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) of only one proposal but may be co-PIs on multiple proposals
• Winners from the previous year are not eligible to apply as PI
• Principal Investigator MUST be from BWH
• Collaborations with other departments at BWH as well as other institutions are encouraged especially those that bring together new multi-disciplinary teams encompassing researchers, clinicians, engineers, entrepreneurs etc.
• For Track A, applications seeking seed funding for planned RO1s, PO1s or similar will be eligible as would those seeking funding to establish a core resource for which there is a demonstrated need at BWH. Applications for equipment will not be considered.
• Finalists MUST be available to participate in both the prep session on Oct 4^th  as well in the shark tank/live pitch session (TBD)
• Recipient (PI of the proposal submitted) must remain with a primary appointment or a full-time employee at BWH for the duration of the award. Award will otherwise be forfeited in a pro-rated fashion.

• Projects must address a well-defined scientific/clinical problem or a well-defined diagnostic, therapeutic, device or digital health application
• Projects must be scientifically meritorious and/or have an innovative approach
• Novel and/or early-stage ideas that can significantly accelerate research progress or those with high potential for intellectual property/commercialization potential in the stated field will be given high funding priority
• Projects should be focused and achievable, with a clear strategy and high potential to secure future external funding
• The short-term and/or long-term impact (scientific, commercial, patient care or cost savings) of the project should be clearly articulated
• Strength of team – The investigators must have the requisite skills and experience to carry out the project successfully

• Applications will be solicited per the timeline above. The review committee composed of BWH clinicians and researchers, Partners Innovation staff and non-BWH reviewers including donors, venture capitalists, representatives of the biopharma/device industry and other friends of the Brigham will review the letters of intent (LOI) and invite a subset of applicants to submit full applications
• Following review of the full applications by the review committee, finalists will be invited to the closed-door shark tank/live pitch session which will be the final round of the RFA
• Following the final round, the review committee will submit their funding recommendations to the BRI Executive Committee for approval.

• All recipients will be obligated to provide a written report of activity (1 page limit) three, six and twelve months from the date on which funds are received and also meet with Brigham Research Institute (BRI)  as applicable to discuss the progress of their project at these time points.
• All recipients will be required to provide an oral status update to the BRI Research Oversight Committee and the BWH Health & Technology Sub-Committee at the end of one year of funding.
• Grantees will notify the BRI when other grants are received as a result of this funding or if papers are published, patents are filed etc. as a result of this funding
• Grantees will acknowledge the Brigham Research Institute (BRI) & the BWH Health & Technology Sub-Committee in publications, posters, grants, press releases and other professional recognition resulting from this funding support and will notify the BRI when such events are due to occur. Grantees will also acknowledge funding support from the BRI and the BWH Health & Technology Sub-Committee in all forums if new companies, products or services are established as a result of this funding.

• Letters of intent (due Thu, June 21, 2018 10:59pm) should be submitted online (http://bwhcfdd.partners.org/Listing.aspx?courseId=282) and will include the following:
  1. Applicant’s Name, Department and Division, BWH and HMS professional appointments, office or laboratory address, telephone number and e-mail address
  2. Title of research project to be supported
  3. Applicants must indicate names of collaborators and the institutions they are affiliated to
  4. PDF of letter of intent with a maximum of 300 words describing the project and clearly specifying the short-term and/or long-term impact (scientific, commercial, patient-care or cost savings) of the project.
  5. Applicants must indicate whether any invention disclosures or patents have been filed in connection with the project submitted

   

  Click here to submit the LOI: http://bwhcfdd.partners.org/Listing.aspx?courseId=367

   

  Invited full applications (due Mon, Aug 27, 2018, 10:59pm) should be submitted online (submission link will be provided to invited applicants) and must include the following:

  1. Applicant’s Name, Department and Division (if applicable), BWH and HMS professional appointments, telephone number and e-mail address
  2. Title of research project to be supported
  3. Project Proposal (5-page limit, excluding references):
  1. • Introduction/Background
     • Specific Aims
     • Significance
     • Experimental details, preliminary data (if any) and contributions of each team member. If it’s a project with commercial potential, please also include a brief, well-researched competitive overview of the marketplace
  1. Future plans ie how will this project be funded after this seed grant and how collaborators or IP will be secured or how piloting will be executed
  2. PDF biosketches of Principal Investigator, co-investigators, collaborators and other significant key personnel in NIH format
  3. Detailed budget for one year for a maximum of $50,000 direct costs
  4. Copy of human or animal use protocol approval letter (if applicable), indicating that it is current

The program is an open call to all innovators in the Brigham Health community. All members of the Brigham Health community including Brigham professional staff and faculty members with instructor rank and above are invited to apply.

• Individuals may serve as the Principal Investigator (PI) of only one proposal but may be on co-PIs on multiple proposals.
• The Principal Investigator (PI) must be from the Brigham.
• Winners from previous years are not eligible to apply as a PI.
• Collaborations with other departments at the Brigham as well as other institutions are encouraged – especially those that bring together new multi-disciplinary teams encompassing researchers, clinicians, engineers, entrepreneurs, etc.
• Finalists must be available to participate in both the prep session on Thursday, October 4^th and the live pitch session on Tuesday, October 23^rd.
• Grant participants must remain with a primary appointment or a full-time employee at Brigham for the duration of the award. Award will otherwise be forfeited in a pro-rated fashion.

• Projects must address a well-defined scientific and/or clinical problem through a digital based solution, such as but not limited to, Internet of things, wearable devices, apps, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR).
• Projects must be scientifically meritorious and/or have an innovative approach.
• Novel and/or early-stage ideas that can significantly accelerate research progress or those with high potential for intellectual property/commercialization potential in the stated field will be given high funding priority.
• Projects should be focused and achievable, with a clear strategy and high potential to secure future external funding.
• There should be one clear project milestone that success can be measured (ie. wireframes made, prototype created, user feedback of people [give a number] completed).
• Use of funds and justification should be clear.
• The short-term and/or long-term impact (scientific, commercial, patient care or cost savings) of the project should be clearly articulated.
• Strength of team – The investigators must have the requisite skills and experience to carry out the project successfully.

• Applications will be solicited per the timeline above. The review committee composed of BWH clinicians and researchers, Partners Innovation staff and non-BWH reviewers including donors, venture capitalists, representatives of the biopharma/device industry and other friends of the Brigham will review the letters of intent (LOI) and invite a subset of applicants to submit full applications.
• Following review of the full applications by the review committee, finalists will be invited to the closed-door shark tank/live pitch session which will be the final round of the RFA.
• Following the final round, the review committee will submit their funding recommendations to the BRI Executive Committee for approval.

• All recipients will be obligated to provide a 1 page written report of activity three, six and twelve months from the date on which funds are received. Recipients are also required to meet with Brigham Innovation Hub staff as applicable to discuss the progress of their project at these time points.
• All recipients will be required to provide an oral at the end of six months and 1 year.
• Grantees will notify iHub when other grants are received as a result of this funding, or if papers are published, patents are filed, and other milestones are hit as a result of this funding.
• Grantees will acknowledge the Brigham Digital Innovation Hub (iHub) and the Schlager Family in publications, posters, grants, press releases and other professional recognition resulting from this funding support and will notify the iHub when such events are due to occur. Grantees will also acknowledge funding support from the iHub and the Schlager Family in all forums if new companies, products or services are established as a result of funding.

• Letters of intent are due Thursday, July 21st, 2018 10:59pm and should be submitted online and include the following:
  • Applicant’s Name, Department and Division, BWH and HMS professional appointments, office or laboratory address, telephone number and e-mail address.
  • Title of research project to be supported.
  • Applicants must indicate names of collaborators and the institutions they are affiliated to.
  • PDF of letter of intent with a maximum of 300 words describing the project and clearly specifying the problem, the idea to solve the problem, the milestone that needs to be achieved to advance the project, and the short-term and/or long-term impact the solution could have (ie it will reduce cost, improve quality, increase access, improve patient and doctor experiences etc) of the project.
  • Applicants must indicate whether any invention disclosures or patents have been filed in connection with the project submitted.

  Please click here to submit your LOI: http://bwhcfdd.partners.org/Listing.aspx?courseId=365

  Invited full applications are due Monday, August 27^th, 2018 10:59 p.m. and should be submitted online (submission link will be provided to invited applicants) and must include the following:

  • Applicant’s Name, Department and Division, BWH and HMS professional appointments, office or laboratory address, telephone number and e-mail address.
  • Title of research project to be supported.
  • Names of collaborators and the institutions they are affiliated to.
  • Abstract with a maximum of 300 words describing the project and clearly specifying the short-term and/or long-term impact (scientific, commercial, patient-care or cost savings) of the project.
  • List any invention disclosures or patents filed in connection with the project submitted.
  • Project Proposal (3-page limit, excluding references):
    • Page 1:
      • Problem
      • Solution
      • What have you accomplished to date (Preliminary data/progress is required)
    • Page 2:
      • Impact the solution will have
      • Why is your solution better and different than the competition or current best practice.
    • Page 3:
      • What will you do with the money, what milestone will it achieve, and how will it advance the project toward commercial viability.
      • Why is your team the right team (highlight relevant skill sets, resources, experience etc).
    • Appendix:
      • Letter of support from department (ie a chief, chair, executive director, director, or lead PI for the lab).
      • PDF professional bio of Principal Investigator, co-investigators, collaborators and other significant key personnel not to exceed 1 page/ person..
      • Detailed budget for one year for a maximum of $25,000 direct and indirect.
      • Copy of human or animal use protocol approval letter (if applicable), indicating that it is current.
      • current.

  This special track is made possible through the generosity of the Schlager Family.