Brigham and Women’s Hospital will host its 8th Shark Tank in October 2018 to fund innovative and high-risk/high-impact projects in the basic, clinical, digital and translational realms through its Health & Technology Innovation Awards. Sponsored by the Brigham Research Institute (BRI) and the BWH Health and Technology Subcommittee, these awards aim to advance projects that have the potential to make an impact in one or more of the following domains – biomedical research, healthcare delivery, the generation of new companies/products/services, cost savings, care quality and provider burnout. Since 2012, more than $1 million has been distributed to BWH investigators through these awards.

In 2018, the Fund is additionally offering the Schlager Family Award for Early Stage Digital Health Innovation (Track B) with a generous contribution from the Schlager Family and support from the Brigham Digital Innovation Hub. The goal of the Schlager Family Award is to help Brigham be a world leader in the digital transformation of healthcare.

Track A: 

Supported by the Brigham Research Institute, this track of the BWH Health and Technology Innovation Awards focuses on high-risk, high-impact projects across ALL areas of research. Submissions for this track could be basic, clinical, digital and translational projects that have the scientific merit and novelty to significantly advance the progress or research in the field OR have the commercialization potential to be transformed into innovative products/services/companies OR have the potential to impact patient care, cost savings etc at BWH. Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis with up to two non-renewable $50,000 grants available in the Oct 2018 cycle.

Letter of intent requirements:

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

Eligibility: 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.

Awards: Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis with up to 2 awards of $50,000.

For additional details about Track A as well as to find out about this year's special digital innovation track supported by the Schlager Family, please visit: http://www.bwhresearch.org/bwh-health-technology-innovation-fund/

Please note that this Letter of Intent form is ONLY for Track A applicants