In 1999 the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation was created with a goal of improving health care and making such improvements available and affordable. Because Mr. Coulter was an alumnus of Georgia Tech, the Foundation made a $25M grant to support the unique joint Biomedical Engineering Department between Emory and Georgia Tech in 2001. Included in that grant was $8M endowment to fund translational research. This Coulter translational funding program had, until recently, been on hiatus but is now ready to re-launch and accepting applications.
In early November two kick-off meetings were held, one at Emory and one at Georgia Tech, to provide details of the new funding process. The first round of applications are due at the end of January and for those approved, money will be granted in July 2015. One of the key benefits to Coulter funding is that it does not preclude receiving grants from other funding sources. Below are some specifics:
Project assessment criteria:
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Unmet or underserved clinical need
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Improvement over current standard
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Intellectual property position
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Reasonable or achievable milestones
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Ability to attract follow-on funding
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Team commitment
Project eligibility:
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Two PIs – one technical expert and one clinical expert
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At least one of the PIs must be an Emory OR Georgia Tech faculty member
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Teams preferably include one member from each institution but is not necessary
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Can be “one-sided” teams with two Emory PIs or vice versa
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Submission of Invention Disclosure required with tech transfer office
Available funding:
The program has a total of $1.2 million available for 2015 to fund projects, with an additional $300,000 of in-kind resources (e.g., marketing, regulatory, reimbursement, and legal). There is no set number of projects that can be selected or set funding limit that can be awarded per project. Each project will be evaluated independently on its merits and funding needs. Funding can be used for salary and fringe benefits for project personnel, materials and supplies, and travel, but cannot be used for tuition, construction, or renovations. Grants are made for one year intervals and renewals will be evaluated on a competitive basis.
Application process:
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Meet with the Coulter team to discuss project potential BEFORE drafting an application
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Pre-Proposal Application
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Pre-proposal submission
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Market Assessment and Patent Landscape
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Triage/Invite for Full Proposal
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Full Proposal Application (by invitation only)
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Additional market, regulatory, and reimbursement assessments
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PIs must be available to meet with team and outside consultants
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Coulter team will be active participants in the crafting of the final application
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Reviewed by Oversight Committee (OC)
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Finalists selected to present to OC in person
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Both PIs must be present during presentation
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Mandatory pitch coaching
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Feedback given throughout the process
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Teams notified of funding decision within two weeks
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Post-Grant review process:
Funded projects will meet with the Coulter Team and outside consultants, present reviews in front of the oversight committee, and provide status reports throughout the funding cycle on a regular basis. Meetings will be required semi-weekly. There will also be close coordination with the technology transfer office.
Additional information can be found on the Coulter website. The Coulter Team can also be found on Twitter @Coulter_EmoryGT.