The Medical School Office of Research is launching the “Bold Science” arm of its research strategic plan, Great Minds, Greater Discoveries, by giving money to faculty to invest in other faculty’s bold scientific ideas. Research Scouts will receive $150,000 to invest in colleagues’ scientific ideas, technologies, methods, and tools that they find exciting and visionary.

Join Dr. Steven Kunkel, Chief Scientific Officer and Executive Vice Dean for Research, for an informational webinar about this exciting new program.

Zoom (U-M level 1 login required)

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

CLICK HERE for the RFP

This award is aimed at enhancing the commercial potential of a technology to the point of demonstration of utility and possible inclusion in the MTRAC for Life Sciences or other research funding programs. Technologies must at least have an invention disclosure on file with Innovation Partnerships.

The FFMI/FCVC Aikens Innovation Academy is currently accepting applications/inquiries for its Winter 2023 course, beginning Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The Aikens Innovation Academy provides innovation and entrepreneurship education, mentorship, and funding for Frankel Cardiovascular Center (FCVC) faculty, staff, trainees, and patients with any innovation (clinical value or commercial potential) affecting cardiovascular care.

The 2023 course will be virtual and run until Tuesday, April 18. Enrollees will leave with enhanced knowledge of innovation and entrepreneurship concepts, in addition to a well-developed pitch for resources. They will also receive mentorship and an opportunity for early-stage development funding. Visit the FCVC Innovation Program page to see past Innovation Academy enrollees. Please apply here or contact Ashley Schork at ashlscho@umich.edu.

The FFMI fastPACE course is underway and welcomed its 17th cohort during the kickoff session on Friday, October 7.

The cohort features 18 early-stage innovations in various product categories including devices, healthcare IT, and therapeutics. Participants include innovators from U-M, Michigan Tech, Wayne State, Michigan State, Grand Valley, Ann Arbor SPARK, and Vong BioPharma Consultants.

FFMI fastPACE is a project-based, experiential course designed to help academics launch new innovations. The multi-week course matches innovators with expert teaching team members for guidance on the development of a business case for adoption, implementation, or commercialization.

Arcascope, one of the Michigan Biomedical Venture Fund’s (MBVF) recent investments, just raised a $2.85 million seed round to accelerate the commercial rollout of its innovative, evidence-based offering for shift workers and their employers, while expanding into new application areas.

We are excited to see where the team will take this technology as they push the field of chronomedicine forward. The company leverages foundational research in the modeling of circadian rhythms from the University of Michigan.

Congrats, Olivia Walch and team!

The Public Engagement Faculty Fellowship works in partnership with units across campus to foster faculty public engagement at the University of Michigan. The fellowship supports faculty by providing an opportunity to develop skills and incubate project ideas, while also encouraging recognition of, and experimentation with, all forms of public engagement. The program brings together an interdisciplinary, intergenerational group of faculty members interested in building community and learning from each other and campus experts to effectively engage the public for larger societal impacts.

LHS Collaboratory welcomes Alex John London, Ph.D., Professor of Ethics and Philosophy, Director of the Center for Ethics and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University, and Melissa McCradden, Ph.D., M.H.Sc., Director of AI in Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, for a discussion about why explainability is not the solution to structural challenges to AI in medicine, and about the inextricability of explainability from ethics: "explainable AI does not ethical AI make."

The Clinical Trials Support Office's Orientation for Clinical Investigators is a two-session series that provides faculty with information about the U-M clinical research infrastructure. Attendees will review the scope of their PI role and responsibilities, and learn about the offices, units, and departments that support investigators and the clinical research enterprise. This year’s series is a free hybrid event with in-person and virtual attendance options. Light refreshments will be provided. This seminar is for faculty new to the institution or new to clinical research, or for those needing a refresher on navigating the system.

Register Here

LHS Collaboratory welcomes Kadija Ferryman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, to discuss the merits and challenges of conducting health equity reviews of artificial intelligence (AI) tools used in health and medicine.

The session will be moderated by Jodyn E. Platt, M.P.H., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Learning Health Sciences, University of Michigan and Paige Nong, Doctoral Candidate, School of Public Health, University of Michigan. Register in advance!

Asahi Kasei Pharma is calling for new proposals for its Open Innovation program to promote pharmaceutical R&D through enhanced cooperation with universities, research institutes, and enterprises around the world.

Proposals are solicited concerning new drug seeds (drug target and drug candidate) and technologies in the therapeutic fields of autoimmune disease, renal disease, neurodegenerative disease, bone disease, and drug discovery platform technology. Submissions will be assessed for their potential for collaborative research.

For more information, please contact Debra Grega, FFMI Business Development Director, or visit the Asahi Kasei website. If there is interest, Debra can arrange a discussion with Asahi Kasei.

With the new NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy going into effect on January 25, the U-M Research Data Stewardship Initiative is taking the lead on helping investigators and administrators navigate the changes, and a number of helpful resources have been assembled on this webpage. Additionally, the Medical School Office of Research is developing samples of data management plans, budget examples, and FAQs tailored to the needs of Michigan Medicine researchers.

Would you like help getting a new research project started or expediting a current project? Do you want to gain experience mentoring undergraduates?

The Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) creates research partnerships between undergraduate students and U-M researchers, as well as local community partners and organizations. Students engage in research and creative projects with research mentors representing all 19 colleges/schools/units at U-M.

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.