Two webinars offer help to compete for NIH’s Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs (REACH)

NIH just launched the funding opportunity announcement for the third cohort of its regional biomedical proof-of-concept and accelerator program, the Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs. On Dec. 12, NIH will be hosting a funding opportunity announcement pre-application webinar which will provide a question and answer opportunity with NIH SEED and NIGMS.

In collaboration with SSTI, RTI International’s Alan O’Connor will be providing an overview of the REACH program in a separate webinar on Dec. 8, covering best practices and lessons learned, and summary impacts to date from the first two cohorts of eight sites. This is an excellent opportunity for state science and technology policy teams to hear from the program’s evaluator about return on investment, strategies that have worked well, and other aspects of the REACH program.

The REACH 2015 and 2019 cohorts include eight sites with 51 universities and technical colleges from 12 states. The REACH program provides initial product development funding, coaching, and skills development to support academic innovators in the translation of their scientific discoveries into products and services that improve health and save lives.

To date, these sites have trained more than 1,900 scientists, launched nearly 50 start-ups, and supported technology development projects that secured more than $200 million in follow-on funding.

The webinar will be on Dec. 8, 2022 at 3:30-4:30 p.m. EST.  Register here.