The Request for Proposals is now open for the third round of the Frankel Innovation Initiative, a $20 million dollar gift from the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation that seeks to advance innovative research by U-M faculty, and their collaborators inside and outside U-M, and provide a fast path to patient impact.

Fast Forward Medical Innovation team members will conduct a Q&A and informational session to answer any questions about this year’s proposal process and funding.

CLICK HERE to register

The Frankel Innovation Initiative offers awards between $250,000 and $500,000 annually, with the potential of up to three years of funding. No cost share is required. The projects are selected by a Scientific Advisory Committee of internationally renowned scientists and venture capitalists external to U-M. RFP Deadline: May 9.

Questions? Email Brad Martin, Director, Fast Forward Medical Innovation.

Two investigators at the University of Michigan, Aditya S. Pandey, M.D., surgical director of the Michigan Medicine Comprehensive Stroke Center, and Albert Shih, Ph.D., professor of engineering, have developed a miniature mechanical thrombectomy device that can cut high fibrin clots and reach more of the brain vasculature.

Every year, almost 800,000 patients suffer from strokes, and most of them are ischemic strokes, which are treated with a minimally invasive thrombectomy technique. There is a need for a thrombectomy device that leads to better outcomes, as well as having success on the high fibrin clots and clots in smaller brain vessels.

This project is funded by the Frankel Innovation Initiative.

Made possible by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, U-M Innovation Partnerships, and Fast Forward Medical Innovation, Kickstart Awards offer early-stage funding to enable biomedical researchers across the state of Michigan to develop proof of concept for innovative technologies.

This award is aimed to enhance the commercial potential of a technology owned by any Michigan-based non-profit to the point of demonstration of utility and possible inclusion in the MTRAC for Life Sciences or other research funding programs.

Questions? Contact Meghan Cuddihy, Ph.D., Commercialization Program Director, MTRAC for Life Sciences, at mcuddihy@umich.edu or 734-645-9153.

Do you have an innovative idea? Are you looking for funding, collaboration, and mentorship?

FFMI fastPACE is a project-based, experiential course designed to help academics launch new innovations, including medical devices/diagnostics, digital solutions, drugs, educational/training interventions, research tools, and many others.

The multi-week course, delivered completely online, matches innovators with expert teaching team members for guidance on the development of a business case for adoption, implementation, or commercialization.

Registration is now available for the Spring 2022 cohort, to be held virtually, beginning Friday, April 29. Sign up today! Registration closes on Friday, April 15 at 11:59pm.

Questions? Email Jon Servoss, FFMI Director of Commercialization Education.

Frankel Innovation Initiative award winners, Ariella Shikanov, Ph.D., and Robert Bartlett, M.D., were recently interviewed on WJR radio.

Dr. Shikanov explained ArtOva, a novel polymer capsule that contains functioning ovarian tissue from a healthy donor and can be transplanted into adolescent girls with premature ovarian insufficiency.

Dr. Bartlett discussed his work on the Frankel Organ Bank, a project aimed at improving the number and quality of organs available for transplantation.

The Frankel Innovation Initiative is a $20 million dollar gift from the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation that seeks to advance innovative research by U-M faculty, and their collaborators inside and outside U-M, and provide a fast path to patient impact.

The Sling Health National Demo 2022 is an event where Sling Health finalist teams from across the country will be pitching their biomedical innovation for the chance to win cash prizes and recognition. Sling Health is a national student-run biotechnology incubator that unites interdisciplinary teams of students in order to develop innovative solutions for clinical problems.

The April session of the LHS Collaboratory Seminar Series will consist of two presentations: "Medical AI - Three Common Myths on the Path from Code to Clinic" and "Medical AI - Raising the Bar on Evidence Standards."

Come to this month's session of office hours to learn about the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) new Data Management and Sharing Policy (which takes effect on January 25, 2023), as well as NIH's expectations, and where to find resources to help with writing a data management and sharing plan.

This new policy applies to all investigators applying for NIH funding for competing grants, contracts, and other funding agreements on or after this date, and requires that a data management and sharing plan be submitted as part of these applications.

Learning Health Systems is welcoming submissions of all manuscript types related to the individual and organizational workforce competencies that are integral to fulfilling the aims of the learning health system, and educational programs that are in place to meet the workforce needs. All submissions will undergo peer review and accepted papers will be considered for publication in a Special Issue in 2022.

The Medical School Office of Research is currently accepting applications for the 2022-23 Cohort of its R01 Boot Camp. It is an intensive mentorship program designed to help early-career faculty receive their first NIH Research Project Grants (R01, or equivalent).

While developing proposals over a 9-month course, mentees attend a variety of workshops on topics such as grant writing, statistics and study design, budgeting, and constructing components of the grant application.

The OVPR Anti-Racism Grants aim to catalyze innovative research and scholarship efforts that will advance knowledge and understanding around complex societal racial inequalities that can inform actions to achieve equity and justice.

To continue strengthening laboratory and research safety across the University of Michigan, Environment, Health and Safety is partnering with the U-M Research and Academic Safety Committee to develop and implement a new phase of its research safety initiative.

The new phase of the initiative known as “Safety First, Safety Every Day” is launching in unison with safety process changes EHS has implemented based on feedback from laboratory directors, unit safety committees, and others. The changes are designed to reduce burden while also increasing adherence to research safety requirements.

A fraternity fundraising walkathon led to an extraordinarily generous gift and the beginning of a new relationship for the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program. A gift of $1 million dollars from Raymond and Jane Cracchiolo to the Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Program will aid our researchers' efforts to study bipolar disorder and provide hope to the many people living with it worldwide. In particular, the gift will be instrumental in launching the Bipolar Learning Community, an innovative cross-campus collaboration to implement a learning health approach to the research and care of people affected by bipolar disorder.

To better navigate the complexities of the U-M biomedical research enterprise, visit the Research Project Lifecycle. This interactive tool provides an overview of the resources available to you, not only within the Medical School Office of Research but also across the University of Michigan.