Frankel Innovation Initiative

Frankel Innovation Initiative awards are made once a year, with proposals due in April.

Proposal submission and review will be conducted using the University of Michigan Medical School’s Competition Space. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of scientific merit and potential health care impact. It is highly recommended to contact Sara Risch, Biomedical Innovation Specialist at (johnssar@umich.edu or 734-764-5598) to discuss your proposal before submission.

The Frankel Innovation Initiative provides resources to support high-risk , high-reward projects that aim to solve some of the biggest challenges in healthcare. Projects that have the potential to substantially impact life-years are encouraged.

Proposals will be accepted from investigators at the University of Michigan. U-M PIs collaborating with national key opinion leaders within U-M or at other institutions are especially encouraged to apply. A U-M PI must be the primary PI and projects must have originated at U-M.

Projects are not required to have secured intellectual property (IP) or the potential of defendable IP.

Project budgets depend on the scope of work and technology. Funds dispersed depend on achievement of prospectively agreed upon milestones, which are project specific. Funding will range from $250k-1M per year, with the potential for multiple years of funding.

Please note that no indirect costs are associated with this award.

Contact Sara Risch, Biomedical Innovation Specialist (johnssar@umich.edu or 734-764-5598) for details related to budgets.

Allowable budget expenditures include: salary and fringe benefits for project personnel, materials and supplies, contracted research (if required), travel and other relevant costs directly related to advancing the project (to be discussed with Frankel Innovation Initiative staff on a case-by-case basis). Budgets should be primarily allocated to the conduct of research and achievement of milestones. Proposals will be partially evaluated on the appropriateness of project budget.

The Frankel Innovation Initiative Oversight Committee comprises global biotech business experts as well as internationally prominent scientists who have deep expert knowledge.

The review process consists of multiple steps. A review team performs an initial review of proposals, selecting those that have significant clinical potential for an in-person presentation. Projects which are not selected for further review are provided with feedback.

The selected Frankel Innovation Initiative proposal teams then present their project directly to the Oversight Committee at the committee’s annual meeting in Ann Arbor in May, and awards are granted shortly thereafter.

In addition to reviewing and selecting proposal awards, members of the Oversight Committee and their colleague networks serve in an informal mentorship role to research teams as their projects progress.