CDC Addresses "Pioneer Gap" with Investment from their Innovation Fund!
In 2010, conversations with more than 70 staff at CDC identified a lack of early stage funding as a top barrier to innovation. To fill this "pioneer gap" the Office of the Associate Director for Science (OADS), Office of Technology and Innovation sponsors the Innovation Fund (iFund) to support CDC innovators of exceptional creativity who propose transformative, high impact approaches that address public health priorities. The iFund supports the scaling and/or operationalization of tried and tested innovations. The program is designed for innovators who require support for continued growth and for assessing the likelihood that the innovation can achieve impact and/or viability at a larger scale.
Since its inception in 2011, the iFund has supported and financed over 60 mission-driven projects. Like the HHS Ventures Fund, teams pitch for up to $100,000 of support for a 15 month project timeframe. This past December, OADS received over 82 proposals for consideration.
We are pleased to announce the teams selected for iFund support which includes one project co-funded with the HHS Ventures Fund. The selected individuals, projects, and CDC Centers, Institutes and Offices are listed below. Please join me in congratulating these teams!
Projects
Development of a portable multi-sensor device to conduct remote, periodic air sampling for investigating city-wide air pollution complaints
Project Members
- Greg Zarus, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries, CDC
- Diane Jackson, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries, CDC
- Lynn Wilder, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries, CDC
- Custodio Muianga, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries, CDC
Project Sponsor
- Ileana Arias, Division Director, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registries, CDC
Field validation of new assay for the detection of measles and rubella infection and immunity
Project Members
- Eugene Lam, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Heather Scobie, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Paul Rota, Office of Infectious Disease, CDC
Project Sponsor
- Jordan Tappero, Division Director, Center for Global Health, CDC
Use of an innovative screening assay to improve maternal and child health (MCH)
Project Members
- Bharat Parekh, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Yetunde Fakile, Office of Infectious Disease, CDC
- Ernest Yufenyuy, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Diana Martin, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Tun Ye, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Mary Kamb, Office of Infectious Disease, CDC
Project Sponsor
- Kevin Karem, Assoc. Dir. of Lab Science, Center for Global Health, CDC
Use of malaria parasite-specific metabolites as biomarkers for development of a sensitive, low-cost, rapid, simple and field deployable non-invasive diagnostic for malaria infection
Project Members
- Ya Ping Shi, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Sheila Sergent, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Xichun Zhou, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Scott Angus, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Gus Dinovo, Office of Infectious Disease, CDC
Project Sponsor
- Larry Slutsker, Division Director, Center for Global Health, CDC
Inexpensive counterfeit drug identification device (CoDI)
Project Members
- Mike Green, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Isabel Swamidoss, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Babita Ganguly, Center for Global Health, CDC
- Maria Paul,
Project Sponsor
- Larry Slutsker, Division Director, Center for Global Health, CDC
Reinventing autism surveillance with machine learning
Project Members
- Matthew Maenner, National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities,
- Chad Heilig, Office of Public Health Scientific Services, CDC
- Scott Lee, Office of Public Health Scientific Services, CDC
- Nicole Dowling, Office of Noncommunicable Disease, Injury and Environmental Health, CDC
- Maureen Durkin,
Project Sponsor
- Colleen Boyle, Director, National Center for Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC
Identification of metabolic conjugates to detect opioid exposure
Project Members
- Melissa Carter, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC
- Samantha Isenberg, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC
- Thomas Mathews, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC
- Rebecca Shaner, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC
Project Sponsor
- Jerry Thomas, Medical Officer, National Center for Environmental Health, CDC
Death-on-FHIR: Using new technologies to help improve the accuracy of mortality data and support real-time surveillance
Project Members
- Paula Braun, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC
- Mark Braunstein (Georgia Tech)
- Glenn Copeland, Michigan
- Michelle Williamson, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC
- Hetty Khan, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC
Project Sponsor
- Delton Atkinson, Health Statistician, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC
Mini baghouse technology to control silica dust at fracking sites
Project Members
- Eric Esswein, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC
- Arthur Miller, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC
Project Sponsor
- Jennifer Lincoln, Health Scientist, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, CDC
