A UNIT OF THE U-M MEDICAL SCHOOL OFFICE OF RESEARCH
August 17, 2017
Upcoming Events :
EVENT   DATE WHO SHOULD ATTEND
BioArbor - The Latest Trends in Digital Healthcare



Wednesday,
September 13, 2017
5:00pm Networking
6:00pm Panel Discussion
Ann Arbor SPARK Central Innovation Center, Lower Level
330 E. Liberty St. 
Ann Arbor
Anyone interested in digital health can attend this networking session and panel discussion that will cover the latest trends in digital healthcare. Attendees will learn about where the opportunities are and what impact ehealth will have. Kevin Ward, M.D., FFMI Executive Director and Professor, Emergency Medicine at U-M, will be part of the expert panel, along with Eran Bashan, Ph.D., Co-Founder, Hygieia and Lisa McLaughlin, M.S.I./M.S.W., Co-Founder & CEO, Workit Health. CLICK HERE to register.
Fast Forwarding Medical Device Innovation 
Friday,
September 29, 2017
1:00pm-5:30pm
BSRB Kahn Auditorium and Seminar Rooms ABC
Networking to follow
Faculty, staff, and students working on medical device technologies, and those interested in learning about development resources and collaboration opportunities, will learn how U-M is fostering an environment of collaboration to enhance medical device innovation. CLICK HERE to RSVP. See below for the full article. 
FFMI fastPACE Kickoff



Friday, 
October 20, 2017
Location TBD
Clinicians and researchers with an early-stage biomedical innovation or idea can apply for this 4-week course that blends in-person and online education to help faculty researchers and clinicians prepare a successful business case for funding and development partnerships. CLICK HERE to register.
TXRFP
U-M Therapeutic Innovation Fund RFP - Up to $150K to Support Drug Discovery (MCTI & FFMI) 


The Michigan Center for Therapeutic Innovation (MCTI) and FFMI offer the U-M Therapeutic Innovation Fund, a five-year, $2.5 million fund created to accelerate the discovery and translation of therapeutic candidates at the University of Michigan. The fund supports the discovery and optimization of small molecule lead compounds for projects with a specific, novel, and testable drug discovery hypothesis. Selected projects receive funding and resources from MCTI in the areas of drug design, cell biology, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, and pharmacology (up to $150,000 in value for each award for up to 18 months with the funds being disbursed in two stages). 
    
A pre-submission application and meeting must be completed on or before August 25, 2017. The submission deadline for the full proposal will be on Friday, September 8, 2017 at 5:00pm EST. CLICK HERE for more information.
Mi-TRACRFP
Mi-TRAC RFPs Due September 25 - Up to $250K to Support Commercialization
Mid-stage funding for biomedical innovation

Mohamad Hakam Tiba, M.D,. Year 1 MTRAC award winner
Have a hot concept in the realm of biomedical devices, diagnostics, therapeutics, or digital health/IT that would be a great candidate for commercialization? 

Mi-TRAC Awards are part of the MTRAC for Life Sciences Innovation Hub. Made possible by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and co-managed by FFMI and U-M Office of Tech Transfer, the awards provide mid-stage, translational research funding and resources for proof-of-concept and late-stage translational studies with a high potential of commercial success. We're excited to kick off the second year of this statewide research innovation and commercialization program with the recent renewal of funding from the MEDC.

Innovators from all schools at the University of Michigan, other institutions of higher education, non-profit research centers, and hospital systems across Michigan are eligible to submit projects for funding consideration.

Questions? Contact Bradley Martin, Ph.D., MTRAC for Life Sciences Commercialization Program Director, at bradmart@umich.edu or 734-936-8577.
device
Fast Forwarding Medical Device Innovation
September 29 symposium focuses on medical device innovation at U-M

Event highlights:
Friday, September 29
1:00pm-5:30pm
BSRB Kahn Auditorium & ABC Seminar Rooms
Networking mixer/poster presentation to follow
CLICK HERE for more information and to RSVP

Faculty, staff, and students working on medical device technologies, and those interested in learning about development resources and collaboration opportunities, are invited to join Fast Forward Medical Innovation for an exclusive medical device development symposium to learn how U-M is fostering an environment of collaboration to enhance medical device innovation.

The half-day event is designed to educate and inspire faculty, students, and staff on commercialization principles, highlight promising technologies, and open dialogue with executives from major medical device companies and venture capital firms. 
fastpace
Sign Up for the FFMI fastPACE Course (Begins October 20)
4-week course targets early-stage projects

Do you have an innovative idea? Are you looking for funding, collaboration, and mentorship? FFMI fastPACE, formerly the Early Tech Development Course, is launching its 7th cohort starting October 20. To date, 119 project teams have completed this 4-week biomedical commercialization course that is designed for the busy medical academician with an early-stage project.

During the course, teams work with experienced mentors to share and review projects, provide constructive feedback, and offer peer support. FFMI fastPACE is tailored to accommodate your busy schedule, blending in-person and online education to help faculty researchers and clinicians prepare a successful business case for funding and development partnerships.

Friday, October 20


In addition, FFMI can partner you with medical students who are part of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Path of Excellence and eager to assist in project development and expand their exposure to up-and-coming innovations. 

For more information, visit the FFMI fastPACE webpage or contact Grace Murphy, Commercialization Education Program Coordinator, at gramurph@umich.edu or 734-615-8977.
blog
Check Out FFMI's Blog (New Post!) 
Stories from the innovation and commercialization trenches by FFMI Executive Director, Kevin Ward

The latest post in the new Fast Forwarding Medial Innovation Blog, The Innovator's 'Academic' Dilemma: A Primer, is live. In this post, Kevin Ward, M.D., Executive Director of the University of Michigan Medical School's Fast Forward Medical Innovation (FFMI), sets the stage in explaining why it's such a difficult choice for faculty at academic medical centers on whether or not to devote significant energy and resources toward innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship. In future blog posts, Dr. Ward will dive deeper into definitions of innovation, as well as entrepreneurship as it applies to academic medicine.

The Fast Forwarding Medical Innovation blog is a resource where Dr. Ward will share his experience at Michigan Medicine and the U-M in developing strategic programming with a purpose to make innovation and entrepreneurship a natural and expected academic behavior in hopes that great ideas will move more rapidly to patient impact. This will include his very own innovation journey and how these experiences helped in creating FFMI.
txevent
Event Puts the Spotlight on Therapeutic Innovation at U-M

On Tuesday, August 1, Fast Forward Medical Innovation, in partnership with the Michigan Center for Therapeutic Innovation and the Center for the Discovery of New Medicines, presented Therapeutic Innovation, from Idea to IND.  

Hosted by Mike Holinstat, Ph.D., Department of Pharmacology, FFMI Therapeutic Faculty Champion, the event provided an overview of the drug development process, as well as the resources, points of contact, and services available to therapeutic researchers at U-M interested in pursuing an Investigational New Drug. 

During a networking session following the event, speakers were available for one-on-one consultations.
lilly
Eli Lilly Talk Highlights Industry-Academic Partnerships

On Tuesday, August 8, Fast Forward Medical Innovation welcomed Gary Krishnan, MSc, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow, External Technology & Innovation at Eli Lilly and Company

Dr. Krishnan spoke about the history of Eli Lilly as it relates to academic and industry partnerships, as well as the programs that Eli Lilly offers to academia designed to help advance research and bring new drugs to market. In addition, Dr. Krishnan pointed out the impressive amount of biomedical innovation coming out of the Midwest, and discussed how to overcome barriers to success and forge positive industry/academic partnerships. 
palooza
A Rootin' Tootin' Good Time at the Innovation Rodeo During Researchpalooza 2017 

Thanks to everyone for visiting FFMI at this year's Researchpalooza and "saddling up" for a ride on the Innovation Rodeo mechanical bull. 

Our team enjoyed meeting the many faculty and staff that stopped by our booth to talk about U-M's wide variety of biomedical commercialization programs and funding opportunities.

The mechanical bull was a big draw as attendees channeled their inner cowboy to see how long they could stay on. Our own Mike Ranella was the rodeo champion with an impressive 24-second ride! At the end of the day, it was a great time and we look forward to seeing everyone again next year.
news
Latest News from Project Teams Who Received FFMI Funding, Training, and Support

Mi-Kickstart award winner receives funding
Mi-Kickstart Awardee and FFMI Faculty Champion Michael Holinstat, Ph.D., FAHA, received follow-on funding through the NIH Center for Accelerated Innovations at Cleveland Clinic for advancement of his technology "Analogs of Oxyprotect (12-HETrE) for inhibition of platelet function and thrombosis".

Mi-Kickstart award winner has article published 
Mi-Kickstart Awardee Marilia Cascalho, Ph.D., was recently published in JCI Insight and featured in "JCI This Month" in June.

FFMI  fastPACE graduate receives follow-on funding
Grant Kruger, Ph.D., a former FFMI fastPACE participant is part of a team that recently won the 2018 Coulter Translational Research Partnership Award. The award will fund the system development and pilot study for their sepsis fluid management project.

Innovation & Entrepreneurship Path of Excellence Student Recognized in U-M Medical School Points of Blue Profile
M3 Student Jessa Miller, an Innovation & Entrepreneurship Path of Excellence student and fall 2016 FFMI fastPACE participant, was featured in an article on the U-M Medical School Points of Blue Profile page. The article highlights her idea for the External Dual-Luman Cuff, a medical device that improves kidney stone treatment by decreasing operation times and hospital readmission rates for residual stones, as well as her experience with FFMI and the Path of Excellence. CLICK HERE to read the full article. 
other
In Other News...

Register by September 8 for the MPrOVE Research Innovation Challenge, a new program from the  Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) and the Michigan Program on Value Enhancement (MPrOVE) that will provide planning funds (up to $75,000) to drive team science by encouraging the development of interdisciplinary research projects focused on optimizing value in healthcare in order to advance the quality of healthcare, reduce costs, and help improve patient outcomes. The Challenge will take place on Wednesday, September 27, from 12:30pm-4:30pm, in the NCRC Building 18 Dining Hall. CLICK HERE for more information.

Registration is now open for the October 4 Translational Research Symposium, hosted by George A. Mashour, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Director (MICHR); Executive Director, Translational Research (Office of Research); and Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research (Medical School). CLICK HERE for more information and to RSVP.

The NIH SBIR/STTR Program Office FY 2017 Omnibus Grant webinar resources are now available. The next submission deadline is September 5, 2017. For assistance, you can reach out to the central office or the funding institute or Center of your choice. 
CLICK HERE for webinar recording
CLICK HERE for transcript
CLICK HERE for slide presentation
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Office of Research
Fast Forward Medical Innovation is part of the Office of Research, where our mission is to foster an environment of innovation and efficiency that serves the U-M Medical School community and supports biomedical science from insight to impact.