The Taubman Institute is pleased to announce a call for new applications for the Taubman Institute Innovation Program (TIIP). The institute seeks to support scientific teams which that propose focused research projects intended to impact on our understanding of human health and disease.

The Taubman institute has developed a results-oriented approach to identifying, supporting and accelerating discovery projects with the potential to become self-sustaining and to positively affect the lives of patients and their families.  Since 2017, Taubman-supported projects have attracted more than $60 million in external funding following initial investment through TIIP funding.

We have no set budget and no set timeline; we want your best ideas!  We are willing to take risks for potentially impactful projects.

Some of the types of studies we will consider include:

  • Systematic, multi-scale phenotyping (molecular, clinical device/wearable, etc) to gain insights into individual subject variation in the susceptibility, progression, course or outcomes of disease
  • Development of new devices for diagnostics, tissue sampling
  • Discovery related to the underlying cause of disease
  • Novel approaches to prevent or treat rare diseases
  • Computational tools, machine learning, and AI approaches to understand disease

We encourage teams to include physician-scientists as leaders or contributors to the projects.

In general, we do not support animal studies, nor will we provide funds to create specialty clinics.

The TI approach: The institute partners with investigators to support the development and implementation of their research programs. This includes, but is not limited to, development of a research plan, database development and analysis, identification of research partners within and external to U-M, infrastructure development, support for ancillary personnel in the clinic, clinical data collection, biological specimen collection, remote data collection, initiation of research plan, and data analysis.

In addition to funding, the Taubman institute offers expertise in finance,  trained project and data management, and other administrative support.

Milestones.  All projects will be required to develop milestones in consultation with the institute. Continued funding is dependent on achieving the mutually agree upon milestones.  Projects will undergo rigorous, periodic review by the institute’s staff, executive committee and scientific advisory board.

Who you are. The Taubman Institute welcomes applications from existing teams of active collaborators, newly formed teams, or from individuals who have novel ideas.

Funding criteria.  Applications will be evaluated on the following:

  • Impact on improving the lives of patients
  • Innovation in understanding the variability of onset or progression of disease, and reasons for differential response to treatment
  • Potential for future funding by the NIH or other external agencies
  • Potential for increased reimbursement for care by insurance companies, or cost savings to the medical system
  • Enhanced interactions with basic or other science disciplines (teams)

Your application:  The first step in a TIIP application is to submit a letter of intent to the institute’s managing director, Grace Wu (glwu@med.umich.edu).  The 2-3 page letter should include:

  • A description of the proposed program
  • A list of team members and their roles (please include biosketches). Describe prior interactions among the team
  • What infrastructure you’ll need to accomplish the goals
  • Who you’ll need to partner with to succeed
  • Potential barriers to your success

Note: not all the above points must be addressed in the LOI. We seek to understand your vision for bringing science into the clinic. The main request here is for an outline of what you want to do and why it will be impactful.

Successful applicants will be expected to participate as members of the Taubman Institute community via chalk talks, symposia, public outreach events and other activities as requested by the director.

There is no deadline. Letters of intent are accepted on a rolling basis.

Next steps.  Your application will be reviewed by the Taubman Institute’s director, managing director and executive committee, with feedback provided as soon as feasible.

Meanwhile, we encourage questions. You may contact us with written queries through Grace Wu (glwu@umich.edu). We are happy to meet with individuals or teams to discuss ideas.

Thank you for your interest in partnering with the Taubman Institute Innovation Program.

Background

Present medical care is limited in its ability to provide individualized treatment or prevention of disease. In part, this is due to a relatively small number of clinical measurements that are used to quantify relative health, and to predict disease onset, relapse and response to treatment.

The result can be over- and under-treatment, ineffective and inappropriate interventions resulting in increased medical costs, and frustration among patients and providers. The tremendous advances in our ability to obtain and integrate large amounts of clinical, molecular and biobehavioral data for an individual presents the opportunity to derive novel insights into factors that define the true state of the individual, and how these factors differ in their susceptibility, progression of disease, and response to disease interventions.

The ability to phenotype patients is often limited by space, clinician time, support personnel, clinic demands, phenotyping infrastructure, database availability, bioinformatics support, etc., that are difficult to put into place, but would be important to obtain external funding. The Taubman Institute hopes to help fill these gaps.

Current and closed Taubman Institute Innovation Projects

Personalized Medicine through Integration of Immune Phenotypes in Autoimmune Skin Disease (PerMIPA)

Principal Investigators:
Michelle Kahlenberg, MD, PhD and Johann Gudjonsson, MD, PhD

Dr. Kahlenberg is the Giles G. Bole, MD and Dorothy Mulkey, MD Research Professor of Rheumatology and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine as well as the Taubman Institute’s William U. Parfet Emerging Scholar.
Kahlenberg Laboratory

Dr. Gudjonsson is the Arthur C. Curtis Professor of Skin Molecular Immunology, Associate Professor, Dermatology and the Frances and Kenneth Eisenberg Emerging Scholar
Gudjonsson Laboratory

Developmental Origins of Human Disease

Principal Investigator: Donna Martin, MD, PhD

Dr. Martin is the Ravitz Foundation Endowed Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases. Additionally, she was appointed Chair, Department of Pediatrics, Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Human Genetics

Martin Laboratory

A Comprehensive, Multi-omic Screen to Identify Candidate Biomarkers for Prediction of Cytokine Release Syndrome during CAR-T Therapy

Principal Investigators: Sung Won Choi, MD and Muneesh Tewari, MD

Dr. Choi is the Edith S Briskin and Shirley K Schlafer Foundation Research Professor of Pediatrics and Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases

Dr. Tewari is the Ray and Ruth Anderson-Laurence M Sprague Memorial Research Professor, Professor of Internal Medicine, Medical School and Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Medical School and College of Engineering

Tewari Laboratory

Short Tandem repeats in precision health and human disease

Principal Investigator: Peter Todd, MD, PhD

Dr. Todd is the Bucky and Patti Harris Career Development Professor of Neurology and Associate Professor of Neurology

Todd Laboratory

A Novel Implantable Treatment for Iatrogenic Hypothyroidism in Cancer Patients Utilizing an Autotransplanted Thyroid Organoid Bioscaffold Generated from Adipose-Derived Stem Cells (ADSC)

Principal Investigators: Mark Cohen, MD and David Zopf, MD

Dr. Cohen is a Professor of Surgery and Professor of Pharmacology
Michigan Medicine Faculty Profile

Dr. Zopf is an Assistant Professor of Pediatric Otolaryngology, as well as an Affiliate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Zopf Laboratory

Characterization of Non-IgE-Mediated Food Allergies in Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES) Patients

Principal Investigator: Mohamad El Zaatari, PhD

Dr. El Zaatari is a Research Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine – Gastroenterology

Dipyridamole to prevent Coronavirus Exacerbation of Respiratory Status (DICER)

Principal Investigators: Yogendra Kanthi, MD and Jason Knight, MD

Dr. Kanthi is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine – Cardiology
Kanthi Laboratory

Dr. Knight is the Marvin and Betty Danto Research Professor of Connective Tissue Research and Associate Professor of Internal Medicine
Knight Laboratory

Monitoring Healthcare Workers at Risk for COVID-19 Using Wearable Sensors and Smartphone Technology

Principal Investigators: Sung Won Choi, MD and Muneesh Tewari, MD

Understanding the Origins of Early COPD

Principal Investigator: MeiLan Han, MD, MS

Dr. Han is Professor, Internal Medicine – Pulmonary/Critical Care

Link to Dr. Han’s study

Precision Medicine for Ocular Disease

Principal Investigator: Thomas Gardner, MD, MS

Dr. Gardner is Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Professor, Internal Medicine – Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Diabetes, Professor, Molecular & Integrative Physiology, Senior Scholar, A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, and Associate Chair, Research

Michigan Medicine Faculty Profile