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Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund

Overview

The Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund is designed to stimulate collaborative bioengineering research and drive high-impact translation by UT Dallas and UT Southwestern researchers and clinicians. Funded by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, this award opportunity aims to accelerate the work of joint-institutional research teams who demonstrate robust potential to rapidly translate and commercialize their work, with an ultimate goal of advancing the pipeline of promising and commercially viable scientific breakthroughs to improve health.

Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund awards will be made to two competitively selected teams who demonstrate the highest potential for translation and commercialization. Project teams must include at least one PI/co-PI with a primary appointment at UT Dallas and at least one PI/co-PI with a primary appointment at UTSW. Selected teams who receive a Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund award commit to pursuing and achieving milestones to commercialization during the 12 -month project timeline.

Project activities not eligible for support include consulting, dissertation completion, research/analysis pertaining to the operation of UT Dallas and/or UT Southwestern, and curriculum development. Topics of interest include biomedical engineering, life sciences, and innovations in health care.

Award Information

  • The maximum allowable budget for the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund grant is $120,000.
  • The duration of the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund is 12 months.
  • Anticipated number of awards: 2

Dates

Submission Deadline: October 31, 2024

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Eligibility Guidelines

  • Project teams should include at least one PI/co-PI with a primary, full-time appointment at UT Dallas and at least one PI/co-PI with a primary, full-time appointment at UTSW. With the support of department/program head, research scientists can serve as PIs.  
  • Adjunct faculty, affiliate faculty, and visiting researchers are not eligible to serve as either PI or co-PIs but may participate in the proposed project.
  • A faculty member may submit only one Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund proposal as a PI or co-PI during each submission period.
  • Faculty participating in the proposal review process are not eligible to apply concurrently for the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund grant.
  • Previous Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund grant awardees may submit a new grant application with a new partner. A previously awarded team and/or the same product is not eligible.

Allowable Expenses

  • Supplies, equipment, reagents, facility use and publication costs.
  • PI/Co-PI salary support (no more than 20% of total budget)
  • Graduate student stipend, benefits and tuition
  • Postdoctoral or Research Scientist salary and benefits
  • Travel, conference/workshop attendance, or conference/workshop hosting for team building to support the proposal submission for other external funding.
  • Patent filing, startup/licensing expenses

Unallowable Expenses

  • Transfer of funds to institutions or individuals outside of either UT Dallas or UT Southwestern
  • Administrative or secretarial support
  • Indirect costs

Required Submission Materials

Proposal documents should have 1-inch margins and use a 12-point font.

  • Summary. In 500 words or less describe the project, the potential impact, and the collaboration for a general audience.
  • Proposal slide deck. Limited to 6 slides with the following section headings in sequence.
    • Rationale and Vision. Explain the goal, the current state of the field and how your collaborative work is innovative and will deliver a commercial outcome.
    • Plan. Provide a description of your plan and explain what you need to accomplish during the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund award period to achieve commercialization.
    • Team. Explain why the project team has the background and abilities to pursue the project. State if the team is new with the participating PIs having no previous track record of co-funding on externally sponsored work.
    • Justification. Explain why the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund opportunity is required to foster the proposed collaboration and how the award will increase the likelihood of commercialization.
    • Participating Personnel. List participating faculty members, providing a clear explanation of each member’s role in the collaboration. Also list any named graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and/or research scientists. If the proposal involves unfunded contributions from outside of either UT Dallas or UT Southwestern, describe the source(s) of support for those contributions. Letters of support may be included and do not count against the page limit.
    • Commercialization Strategy: A big picture vision defining the key commercialization milestones.
  • Budget. Limited to two pages, provide a table with each expenditure category and line-item descriptions. It is expected, although not explicitly required, that the budget be balanced across UT Dallas and UT Southwestern.
  • Budget Justification. Limited to three pages, provide a justification for all expenditures. Specify how much funding is requested for UT Dallas and UT Southwestern.
  • Letter of Collaboration. Include a letter of collaboration from participating UT Southwestern faculty.
  • Biosketches. Provide either NIH/NSF format biosketches for the faculty Key Personnel. Include a personal statement identifying the role of the individual in the project.
  • Current and Pending Support. Provide current and pending support for the faculty Key Personnel. There is no page limit for current and pending support.

Application Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund applications will be reviewed by a committee comprised of UT Dallas, UT Southwestern and Lyda Hill representatives with translational research and commercialization experience. Applicants are required to present their proposal slide deck in 10 minutes followed by a 20-minute Question and Answer session. Applicants will be scored with a numerical rank (10=highly meritorious and recommended for funding, 1=low priority for application consideration). Awards will be announced following the completion of the reviews and funding will be available soon after. Evaluation criteria include:

  • Relevance of project goals, plans, and expected product(s) to prepare the team for translation and commercialization.
  • The skills and abilities of the team.
  • The extent that the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund grant support is vital for the collaboration.
  • Whether or not the collaboration between faculty PIs is new and how this teaming will impact the development of the novel biomedical innovation
  • The effectiveness of the commercialization strategy.

Awardee Requirements

Upon award, you must submit the following information to the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation:

  • Within 6 months of the award, submit a brief progress report including research outcomes, other key project outcomes, and progress towards translation/commercialization. If project progression is delayed for any reason, a clear explanation and a mitigation plan is required.
  • Teams will participate in Bioengineering Startup Training (BEST) or a similar program, to skill-build and proactively identify project gaps that must be scaled to successfully make the leap from research innovation to clinical new therapies and treatments.
  • Within 60 days of the project end, prepare and provide a presentation of results and next steps toward commercialization to selection committee and the Lyda Hill Philanthropy team. Primary objective will be to review results, as well as define successes and barriers to success.
  • Upon request: Provide a brief presentation at UT Dallas during a research symposium or other event to highlight the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund’s impact.
  • Recipients will participate in the UTD Big Idea competition and or other similar opportunities at UT Southwestern and as identified by the Office of Research and Innovation and the Lyda Hill Philanthropy team.

Other Terms and Conditions

  • Funds will not be released until all necessary compliance related approvals and/or training are acquired, such as IRB, IACUC, IBC, RCR and COI.
  • Funds expire and must be used within 12 months of award. No carryover of funds will be permitted unless approval has been provided by the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation. Any unused funds must be returned to the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation.
  • Failure to comply with any of the Awardee Requirements will result in suspension of Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation  funding and faculty becoming ineligible for future seed grant competitions from the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation.
  • The Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation award funding must be acknowledged in any resulting publications, exhibitions, or events, including press releases, using the following language: “This project is funded by Lyda Hill Philanthropies.” All visuals /language referencing the Lyda Hill Biomedical Innovation Fund and/or Lyda Hill Philanthropies must be shared with the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation for review and approval by donor prior to public view.

For further information please contact Emily Lacy.