NYU Translational Healthcare Initiative

Turn your research into a viable venture with up to $120,000 of non-dilutive funding for prototyping plus one year of hands-on coaching from NYU Tandon Future Labs.

NYU Tandon Future Labs Langone logos over scientists looking at brain scans

About NYU Translational Healthcare Initiative (THEI)

Powered by the NYU Tandon Department of Biomedical Engineering and the NYU Tandon Future Labs, this initiative puts a total of $200,000 and venture coaching on the table for teams of Tandon researchers and Langone clinicians with high-potential collaborations.

THEI promotes, develops, and supports innovations to improve patient care. The program provides mentoring, project management, and funding to promising translational projects with the intention of moving innovative technologies to clinical application through commercialization. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to develop health care solutions that address unmet or underserved clinical needs and lead to improvements in patient health care.

two female students in lab coats working in lab

Fundamental discovery research will not be funded. Translational research is centered on the practical clinical application of research results. Typical projects focus on applying developed technologies to solve an unmet or underserved clinical need, or to change a medical practice. Project proposals are evaluated on the basis of their clinical merit, their potential health care impact and significance, their timeline and pathway to commercialization, and most importantly their potential for obtaining further financial investment to translate the particular solution to healthcare.

THEI is a collaboration between NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering, the Grossman School of Medicine, and NYU Langone-Health. It is developed under the leadership of the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Future Labs. THEI is one example of NYU Tandon's commitment to collaborate across schools and disciplines at the intersection of engineering, technology, and entrepreneurship to create next-generation solutions for healthier communities.

 

 

Eligibility

Each project team must include at least one faculty member from NYU Tandon School of Engineering and one clinical practitioner from NYU Langone Health/Grossman School of Medicine whose responsibilities include direct contact with patients or patient data. 

All team members must be committed to the success of the project and be willing to receive mentorship and coaching.

 

Timeline

Please check back for dates for the next Translational Healthcare Initiative.

 

Evaluation Criteria 

    The project must relate directly to applications in health care and benefit patients when the technology is commercialized. The objectives of the project should include an outcome that could trigger follow-on funding through venture capital. Proposals will be evaluated against the following criteria:

    • Clinical Impact (potential to improve the standard of care)
    • Commercialization Potential (potential for reimbursement, regulatory, and market adoption)
    • Project Plan and Milestones (realistic, potential to de-risk the opportunity)
    • Intellectual Property Landscape (potential to define and defend commercially valuable claims)
    • Project Type/Stage
    • Team Personnel

     

    Project Duration

    It is expected that projects will not exceed 12 months in duration. However, exception can be made in specific cases if adequately justified. Project teams that successfully achieve their first-year milestones may request additional follow-on funding to meet additional commercialization objectives.

     

    Project Budgets and Use of Funds

    Project budgets are expected to be between $60,000 to $120,000. A detailed budget justification must be provided in the full proposal. Funds may be requested to support, for example, salaries of postdocs and students, prototyping parts, animal studies, and other materials and supplies. Support for faculty salaries will not be provided. It is anticipated that 2 to 4 teams will be funded per year.

     

    Programming

    The programming will follow the venture mentorship model practiced by the Future Labs, which have led portfolio startups to raise over $1.5B in funding and seen 40+ exits since their launch in 2009. Topics include:

    • Market Access and Reimbursement Strategy Development
    • Coordination with External Clinical and Business Advisors
    • Clinical Workflow Development
    • Hands on Customer Discovery supported by the Future Labs Team
    • Introductions to Venture Investors
    • Intellectual Property Strategy Development

     

    THEI Steering and Oversight Committee

    • Maggie Galloway
      Innovation Strategy Partner, Avanos Medical
      Founder of a successful medical device company that raised multiple rounds of VC, launched 2 FDA regulated laryngoscopes, and had a successful exit. Currently a member of the Venture Capital Group at Avanos Medical. Previously part of the New Ventures team at Humana Insurance. 
    • Enke Bashllari, PhD
      Managing Director — Arkitekt Ventures
      Neuroscientist and venture investor. Founder and Managing Director of Arkitekt Ventures, a venture firm that invests and supports exceptional founders in health-tech and deep-tech from the earliest stages of company formation. PhD, Columbia University Medical Center. MBA, Harvard Business School.
    • Andreas Hielscher, PhD
      Professor and Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
    • Joel S. Schuman, MD 
      Elaine Langone Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Ophthalmology at NYU Langone

    Questions? Contact Vadim Gordin, Director, NYU Tandon Future Labs A/X Venture Studio, at vg2279@nyu.edu.