August 15 deadline approaching for CMI pilot funding requests

PITTSBURGH  (August 8, 2012) … One week remains for pre-proposal submissions in the second round of early stage technology pilot funding from the Center for Medical Innovation (CMI). CMI is seeking to fund projects that are in an early stage with the goal of advancing the work toward commercial development. 

The second-round RFP deadline is 11:59 PM, August 15, 2012, and funding decisions will be made on December 15, 2012.: Pre-proposals will be evaluated on the basis of scientific and clinical merit, potential health care impact and significance, experience of the investigators and potential in obtaining further financial investment to translate the particular solution to healthcare. Funding will range between $10,000-$25,000 per. Round-1 resulted in two $25,000 awards, with a third still under consideration. For more information visit www.engineering.pitt.edu/cmi. 

"Our leadership team has been very pleased with the initial round of interest in the CMI funding process, and we are eagerly anticipating reviewing the latest proposals," noted Alan D. Hirschman, PhD, CMI executive director. "Our program provides researches with the initial funding to get their biomedical technologies off the ground and ready for eventual commercialization." 

The Center for Medical Innovation was established in 2011 as an interdisciplinary program within the University of Pittsburgh, whose purpose is to stimulate, guide, and promote the development and commercialization of technological innovations to improve health care. CMI provides an organizational structure that links faculty, students, and clinicians across the University of Pittsburgh through collaboration with the Swanson School of Engineering, Schools of the Health Sciences, Katz School of Business, School of Law, Office of Technology Management, and the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation Translational Research Partnership II. 

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