The Frankel Innovation Initiative is a $20 million fund supporting the research and development of life-saving therapies at Michigan Medicine. The fund targets projects led by U-M faculty that have the potential for rapid clinical application and groundbreaking impact. FFMI is administering the fund.
The Frankel Innovation Initiative encourages faculty to collaborate with experts at U-M and outside institutions in order to help quickly move early-stage research to results that positively affect human health and save lives. COVID-19 research is very much within the scope of the Initiative’s guidelines.
The $20 million gift will be used to fund four to seven projects annually, with each project receiving between $250,000 – $1 million. Applications are due in June and funding begins in October. Funded projects will be selected by a Scientific Advisory Committee of internationally renowned scientists and venture capitalists external to U-M.
The initiative is designed to build on best practices of the standout programs developed at U-M and other top institutions, and capitalizes on U-M’s extensive biomedical research enterprise as the top public university in research spending in the United States.