Frankel Cardiovascular Center Innovation Program
aikens innovation audience

Fast Forward Medical Innovation

We offer programs and courses in collaboration with the renowned Frankel Cardiovascular Center.

The goal of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center (FCVC) Innovation Program is to foster a culture of innovation through education, funding, and mentorship for FCVC faculty, staff, trainees, patients, and families.

By providing these resources, the FCVC aims to empower those within its ecosystem to create new or different systems and products that fundamentally change the existing system.

The FCVC Innovation Program comprises the FCVC Innovation Challenge, the Aikens Innovation Academy, and other workshops and resources. 

Fast Forward Medical Innovation offers a comprehensive collection of educational programs and training tailored for busy faculty, students, clinicians, and researchers across the University of Michigan, and across the state, region, and nation.

Programs & Courses
Have an Idea for a Cardiovascular Innovation?

Contact the FCVC Innovation Team to arrange a consultation about your idea and learn about education, funding, and mentorship opportunities.

Want to Arrange an Innovation Program for Your Unit?

The FCVC Innovation Program also offers other programs for the FCVC, including ideation sessions, Design Thinking workshops, innovation happy hours, and more. Contact the FCVC Innovation Team at [email protected].

Sign Up for the FCVC Innovation Program News & Events

Stay on top of the latest news from the FCVC Innovation program.

Programs & Courses
fcvc innovation challenge presentation
Innovation Challenge

Annual competition for up to $100K to test and implement cardiovascular innovations

- Faculty, staff, trainees, and patients
- Timeline varies; in-person or virtual

Learn More
Aikens winners
Aikens Innovation Academy

Project-based course, mentorship, and funding for academics with cardiovascular innovations

- Faculty, staff, and trainees
- 12 weeks; in-person or virtual

Learn More
students gathering
Workshops & Resources

Collaborative workshops designed to develop solutions that positively impact patient care.

Learn More
Frankel Cardiovascular Center Innovation Challenge

The Frankel Cardiovascular Center Innovation Challenge is designed to empower our community of trainees, faculty, staff, patients, and families at the CVC to propose, test, and implement new innovations. Innovations can be in the form of changes to patient care or potential new products. 

The Innovation Challenge awards up to $100,000 to one or more winners pending results of the competition and budget. Winners are also provided education and mentorship to support them on executing their projects. In addition, Just Do It Awards are selected for low-cost, low-complexity ideas. 

Congratulations to the 2023 Winners!
Internal - Quality Improvement/Clinical Process Track Winner
ECHO XR Procedural Simulation
Taylor Kantor, MD;  Rishindra Reddy, MD; Deb Lee, PhD, ACNP-BC, FNP; William Lynch, MD; Ashraf Abou El Ela, MD; Cindy Hsu, MD, PhD, MS

External - Commercial Device or Product Winner
A Fuzzy Neural Network Physiologic Close Loop Control System for Diuretic Management after Congenital Cardiac Surgery
Dan Ehrmann, MD; Kayvan Najarian, PhD

Have an Idea?
Ideas are welcome from anyone in the FCVC community: faculty, staff, trainees, and patients. 

The 2024 Innovation Challenge will take place on Thursday, May 9, 3:00 pm  - 5:00 pm, in Danto Auditorium in the Frankel Cardiovascular Center. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Learn More

 

Aikens Innovation Academy

Do you have a groundbreaking idea that could make a difference in patients' lives, but need guidance on a successful path to make that idea a reality? The Aikens Innovation Academy is a program designed to create, nurture, and support a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship through education and mentorship customized for Frankel Cardiovascular Center faculty, staff, and trainees. The Academy is designed to support both clinical value and entrepreneurial innovations.

The Aikens Innovation Academy offers a unique set of educational and project development activities for all cardiovascular innovators, including:

• Clinical and research faculty
• Clinical, research, and administrative staff
• House staff, trainees, and medical students
• Nurses, technicians, and other FCVC staff

In this exclusive program, you’ll receive:

• In-depth education on innovation, including communicating value to stakeholders and how to pitch your idea for resources
• An opportunity to develop innovative biomedical technologies, as well as impact clinical technologies and processes
• Guidance on your implementation strategy and business case
• Connections to relevant stakeholders, including departmental and university resources, industry, and investors
• Mentorship from seasoned innovators
• …and more!

Contact Ashley Schork, FCVC Innovation Program Manager, at [email protected] to arrange a consultation about your idea and learn about education, funding, and mentorship opportunities.

Don’t have an idea? That’s okay, it’s not required! You’re welcome to attend and learn about the innovation process. The program will help you match with a project team of like-minded innovators and an innovative technology.

Aikens Innovation Academy Pitch Showcase
Join us on Thursday, May 9, 9:00 am - 11:00 am, in Danto Auditorium for this showcase that will feature presentations from the current Aikens Innovation Academy participants as they pitch for development funding and additional support from the FCVC Innovation Team. 

Learn More

gardner yost
Spotlight On
Academy Helps Innovators Advance Cardiovascular Care

Learn how the Aikens Innovation Academy helped Gardner Yost, M.D., M.S., and his team take the next steps to move their project towards successful commercialization. The article gives an inside look at the key takeaways participants will get when they complete the course.

Workshops & Resources

We offer a variety of educational opportunities to promote and explore cardiovascular innovation, including a unique Innovation Webinar Series and Design Thinking Workshops.

FCVC Innovation Webinar Series

The FCVC Innovation Webinar Series aims to educate our community on topics of interest regarding cardiovascular innovation, encourage innovative thinking, and connect the community with resources to help further the advancement of ideas. 

See below for a list of upcoming webinars, and to view recordings of past webinars.

For more information, visit the FCVC Innovation Program website

Upcoming Webinars
Register Here
FFMI Paul Tang FCVC Innovation Organ Preservation, More Than Just a Phase
Speaker: Paul Tang, MD, PhD
Vice Chair for Research in Cardiovascular Research
Associate Professor of Surgery at the Mayo Clinic

Date/Time: Tuesday, February 20, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (EST)

Dr. Tang will discuss the phenomenon of liquid-liquid phase separation on augmenting harmful processes mediated molecular signaling during organ preservation. Furthermore, strategies to mitigate this process will be explored.
Register Here FFMi Kenneth Nelson FCVC Innovation Investment Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine
Speaker: Kenneth Nelson
Partner at MedTech Advantage Fund

Date/Time: Wednesday, March 20, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (EST)
Register Here FFMI Aneesh Deoras FCVC Innovation FDA Regulation of Cardiovascular Medical Devices
Speaker: Aneesh Deoras, MS
Assistant Director for Cardiac Ablation, Mapping, and Imaging Devices at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Office of Cardiovascular Devices, Division of Cardiac Electrophysiology, Diagnostics, and Monitoring Devices

Date/Time: Wednesday, April 24, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (EST)
FFMI Dinesh Puppala FCVC Innovation
Speaker: Dinesh Puppala, MS, RAC
Regulatory Affairs Lead at Google
Recorded Webinars
FFMI David McManus FCVC Innovation The Future of Cardiovascular Medicine (View Recording)
Speaker: David McManus, MD
Professor and Chair of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School
FFMI Jag Singh FCVC Innovation
Speaker: Jag Singh, MD, PhD
Professor Medicine at Harvard Medical School
FFMI Hamid Ghanbari FCVC Innovation Digital Medicine for Management in Atrial Fibrillation (View Recording)
Speaker: Hamid Ghanbari, MD, PhD
Co-Chair of Innovation, FVC Innovation Program
Assistant Professor, Cardiac Electrophysiologist at U-M
FFMI Jessica Golbus FCVC Innovation Using Digital Health Technologies in Cardiovascular Innovation (View Recording)
Speaker: Jessica Golbus, MD
Clinical Instructor, Cardiovascular Medicine at U-M
FFMI Catherine Lau FCVC Innovation Advancing Healthcare Delivery System Redesign Through Team Innovation and Implementation Science (View Recording)
Speaker: Catherine Lau, MD
Professor of Medicine and Director of the Caring Wisely Program at UCSF Health
Design Thinking Workshops

Design Thinking is a process of creative problem solving that engages the people that will be most affected by the solution; in healthcare, this is often patients and family members. Design Thinking workshops utilize the collaboration of faculty, staff, trainees, patients, and families to develop solutions that better patient care.

We are happy to talk further about how the concepts of Design Thinking can be utilized in your area of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center. Contact [email protected] to start a conversation. 

Learn more

Frankel Cardiovascular Center Innovation Program Leadership
Chandu Vemuri Chandu Vemuri, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery
Chair, FCVC Innovation Program
Hamid Ghanbari Hamid Ghanbari, MD
Assistant Professor, Electrophysiology
Vice-Chair, FCVC Innovation Program
Questions?
Contact Us
North Campus Research Complex (NCRC)
Building 520, 3rd Floor
2800 Plymouth Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2800
Phone: 734-615-5060
About Us
Fast Forward Medical Innovation is a unit of the Medical School Office of Research, where our mission is to foster an environment of innovation and efficiency that serves the Michigan Medicine research community and supports biomedical science from insight to impact.