The Institute for Translational Medicine (ITM) has selected three winners for its latest round of Pilot Awards that provide $60,000 in funding and ITM resources to kick-start innovative research projects, and applications are now open for its next round of funding.

The summer 2023 Pilot Award winners from the University of Chicago and RUSH are working to prevent violence in Chicago with a phone app, predict which sickle cell patients are likely to suffer from a potentially deadly complication, and empower residents in Chicago’s industrial neighborhoods to monitor pollution levels and advocate for cleaner air.

“The ITM is thrilled to help fuel discoveries to help the public live healthier, longer lives,” said Julian Solway, MD, founding Director of the ITM and Dean for Translational Medicine at the University of Chicago. “These projects have the potential to impact people across the country and take another step towards creating a world with health equity.”

The ITM has supported more than 30 creative research projects and provided more than $1.8 million to research teams through its Pilot Awards program since 2017. Previous pilot award-winners and finalists have gone on to launch companies, secure millions of dollars in federal funding, build national programs, and more.

“The ITM Pilot Award Program sets the stage for collaboration across universities and propels creativity with seed funding and guidance on how to shape the most innovative research idea possible,” said Joshua Jacobs, MD, ITM Director and Vice Dean for Research at RUSH Medical College.

Each round applicants submit a one-page letter of intent, and up to 10 finalists are selected to move forward through a range of free ITM resources in creating a full proposal – including one-on-one science communications coaching, a professional video of the project, study design, biostatistics, community feedback forums, and more. All finalists leave with thousands of dollars in science communication training and content to advance their work even if they aren’t selected in the top three for funding.

Boards of patients, community members, industry experts, and scientists review the top 10 projects and watch the public-friendly videos as part of the selection process.

“Involving the community both early in the research process so that their feedback can shape its design and having them sit at the table as reviewers has been a powerful experience for everyone,” said Doriane Miller, MD, ITM Director of Health Equity Integration and Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago. “They learn about the projects through the approachable videos as opposed to getting lost in pages of jargon, and that understanding allows them to provide helpful ideas to guide our research teams.”