What is the Stepping Strong Innovator Award?
The Stepping Strong Innovator Award is an endowed program that supports projects addressing well-defined clinical problems in areas including bone, wound, and skin healing; limb transplant and reconstruction; bone and muscle regeneration; advanced stem cell technology; orthopaedic and plastic surgery; bioengineering; emergency preparedness and injury prevention. The center provides three to five awards annually to the best, most creative, and most collaborative research teams.
To date, the Stepping Strong Center has provided $6.8 million to 42 multidisciplinary, multi-institutional Innovator Award research teams. Stepping Strong researchers have leveraged their Innovator Awards to secure nearly $25 million in additional outside funding from more traditional sources including private philanthropy, corporations, and federal agencies.
To learn more about other programs that the Stepping Strong Center supports, please visit our website.
What topics is the Stepping Strong Center interested in funding for the 2023 Innovator Awards?
Stepping Strong Innovator Award applicants are strongly urged to review the Stepping Strong website and read through the Stepping Strong annual reports. Please use them as a guide to learn about the types of projects that have been funded by the Stepping Strong Center.
This year, in addition to welcoming multidisciplinary applications in our three focus areas — injury prevention, intra-trauma, and rehabilitation — we are also seeking proposals that address two other areas that align with Stepping Strong Center priorities:
- Bidirectional translation of military medical innovation between military medicine and the civilian setting (“Military-Civilian Translation”)
- Innovative research around injuries due to motor vehicle collisions
What is the deadline for applying for a Stepping Strong Innovator Award?
Applications are due on April 28, 2023, by 12 pm EST.
Application Questions
Who is eligible to apply for the Innovator Award?
The Stepping Strong Innovator Awards are open to all applicants with a proposal related to the prevention, treatment, or rehabilitation of traumatic injury. Each proposal must include at least one collaborator with a primary affiliation at a Mass General Brigham hospital as part of the team but can also include team members from external organizations. Applications can be submitted by clinicians, academic researchers, nurses, allied health professionals, post-doctoral fellows, public health professionals, community partners, engineers or leadership at startups.
Is this grant competition open to only Brigham researchers, or anyone at a Mass General Brigham hospital or research center?
Each proposal must have at least one collaborator with a primary affiliation at a Mass General Brigham hospital or research institution.
I am not affiliated with Mass General Brigham but conduct research in one of the areas that the Stepping Strong Center funds? Can I apply for the Innovator Awards?
Yes, the center will accept applications from other institutions as long as there is at least one collaborator on the team with a primary affiliation at a Mass General Brigham hospital or research institution.
Am I required to have research collaborators for my application?
The Stepping Strong Center gives preference to proposals that include a multidisciplinary team of researchers, physicians, engineers, and subject matter experts.
Do I have to be a U.S. citizen to apply?
No, U.S. and non-U.S. citizens are welcome to apply.
Can individuals who do not have a Harvard Medical School academic affiliation or appointment apply for an Innovator Award?
Yes, the center accepts applications from anyone seeking to improve the prevention and treatment of traumatic injury. They do not need an academic affiliation or appointment at Harvard Medical School, although at least one member of the team must have a primary affiliation at a Mass General Brigham hospital or research center.
My research collaborators are based at private research labs. Can they be part of our application team?
Yes, the center accepts applications that include private-sector researchers as long as the team includes one collaborator with a primary affiliation at a Mass General Brigham hospital or research institute.
Proposal Questions
How much grant funding is provided by a Stepping Strong Innovator Award?
The Innovator Award is a one-time $100,000 grant to the Primary Investigator.
What can the grant funds from a Stepping Strong Innovator Award be used for?
The applicant should submit a budget for $100,000 (inclusive of 20% indirects) that identifies where the funds will be spent. Applicants should use the standard Mass General Brigham detailed budget template and include a corresponding budget justification. The applicant should identify the research costs associated with their proposal, including personnel, equipment, travel, indirects, and other expenses.
Is there an indirect cost associated with the Stepping Strong Innovator Award?
Yes, Mass General Brigham will take 20% indirect costs on the direct cost budget. This should be factored into the applicant’s total budget of $100,000.
For Innovator Awards selected outside of Mass General Brigham hospitals and research centers, the Primary Investigator and their host institution will work with the Stepping Strong Center and Mass General Brigham to create a research contract. The applicant should be aware that this may lead to certain changes in the budget.
Who is on the judging committee for the Innovator Awards?
The judges will consist of the Stepping Strong Center’s leadership, Medical Executive Committee, and Advisory Board, as well as Harvard Medical School faculty (both clinicians/researchers), faculty at other institutions, donors, venture capitalists, representatives of the biopharma/device industry, and other friends of the Stepping Strong Center.
Can you explain the selection process for Stepping Strong Innovator Award applicants?
- Stage 1: After applications are received on April 28, 2023, they will be shared with a group of judges consisting of Stepping Strong Center Medical Executive Committee members. This group will review the applications based on criteria outlined in this RFA, including scientific and programmatic feasibility, the significance of the clinical problem the proposal seeks to solve, the applicant’s connection to the mission of Stepping Strong Center, and the strength of the research team applying.
- Stage 2: A smaller group of finalists will be selected. Their applications will then be sent to a broader group of judges consisting of faculty at other institutions, donors, venture capitalists, representatives of the biopharma/device industry, and other friends of the Stepping Strong Center. This group will provide insights from organizational, commercialization, and clinical perspectives.
- Stage 3: The selected finalists will present to the judging committee on either June 7 or June 8, 2023. Each presentation will consist of five minutes of project overview and Q&A with the judges.
- Stage 4: Based on the feedback from the judges following the in-person presentations, the Stepping Strong Center leadership will select the 2023 Stepping Strong Innovator Award recipients
When do I find out if I have won a Stepping Strong Innovator Award?
Award recipients will be notified by June 23, 2023 with the funding period starting July 1, 2023 at the earliest. The Stepping Strong Innovator Award recipients will be recognized at the 2023 Stepping Strong Trauma Research and Innovation Symposium, scheduled for Thursday, November 16, 2023, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
How does the Stepping Strong Center protect the intellectual property of its applicants?
Applications received from research teams at Mass General Brigham will be reviewed by Partners Innovation to ensure that any intellectual property is withheld from external reviewers.
Applicants from outside Mass General Brigham should check with their technology transfer office before applying.
General Questions
What is The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation?
The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation is a multi-institutional research hub based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with medical co-directors at the Brigham and Massachusetts General Hospital. The mission of the Stepping Strong Center is to catalyze multidisciplinary collaborations that inspire groundbreaking innovation, effective prevention, and compassionate intervention to transform care for civilians and military heroes who endure traumatic injuries and events.
The Stepping Strong Center was established in 2014 by the Reny and Epstein families following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing tragedy. Several members of the Reny family were injured, but none more than Gillian Reny, a high school student who suffered life-threatening injuries. Based on their personal experience, and in gratitude for their lifesaving care at the Brigham, the Renys and Epsteins are devoted to advancing trauma research and care for patients in Boston and beyond.
What medical challenge does the Stepping Strong Center address?
The Stepping Strong Center addresses trauma research and recovery—a severely underfunded, under-represented medical discipline that is one of the most demanding global medical challenges in our nation. In the U.S. alone, traumatic injuries are the third leading cause of death across all age groups and the number one cause of death for Americans between 1 and 44 years of age. For those serving in the military, 82 percent of personnel return from battle with at least one wounded limb. Yet, despite these dire statistics, trauma care research receives less than one percent of funding from the National Institutes of Health. The Stepping Strong Center aims to close this gap by funding research and innovation to advance the continuum of trauma care.
How does the Stepping Strong Center achieve its goals?
Through generous support from donors, expert guidance from multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional medical leaders, and diverse educational initiatives, the Stepping Strong Center achieves its goals by inspiring out-of-the-box thinking and supporting innovative projects in the following areas:
- Advancing new approaches to trauma research and clinical care;
- Training current and future generations of healthcare professionals in the treatment of complex traumatic injuries;
- Creating programs that educate society about traumatic injury and its prevention; and
- Furthering advocacy efforts to expand research, raise awareness, and prevent traumatic injuries from occurring.
To learn more: