NOMINATIONS DUE FRIDAY, APRIL 3RD AT 5PM

Made possible by a generous gift from Ofer Nemirovsky, EE’79, W’79, PAR’21, the Nemirovsky Engineering and Medicine Opportunity (NEMO) prize is focused on supporting early-stage ideas at the intersection of engineering and medicine that (1) do not yet qualify for support by federal agencies and/or (2) are not yet mature enough for private investment. Recognizing that major breakthroughs often occur from new collaborations, this award program can either support investigator(s) with no prior collaborative work, or ongoing collaborative teams examining new ideas at the interface between engineering and medicine. The awardee(s) will receive $80,000 to support the breakthrough. 

Penn Health-Tech: Center for Health, Devices and Technology (PHT) unites interdisciplinary strengths in Medicine, Engineering, and beyond to create transformative technologies that address the world’s pressing healthcare needs. Penn Health-Tech is an academic center that supports faculty, staff, and students at the University of Pennsylvania with funding and programming across the medical device spectrum, from early concept development to implementation.

ELIGIBILITY
  • All faculty in Penn Engineering and Penn Medicine are eligible for the NEMO prize.  
  • At least one, and up to three, faculty may submit a single award nomination. (Self-nomination is preferred.) 
  • The prize is intended to support early-stage ideas at the intersection of engineering and medicine that do not yet qualify for support by federal agencies and are not yet mature enough for private investment. 
  • Both new and ongoing collaborative teams of up to three faculty are encouraged to submit a nomination 

 

NOMINATION AND SUBMISSION

Nomination materials require two parts:  

    1. A one-page summary of the concept that will be supported by the award, including the scientific/clinical significance, general approach, and its potential impact on health/medicine. 
    2. Either NSF-style or NIH-style biosketches for each nominee. 

These two parts should be submitted as a single PDF, entitled NEMO_nomination_lastnameX, where the lastnameX includes the complete list of faculty for a nomination (if applicable).  

Nomination materials must be submitted to NEMO@seas.upenn.edu, where the subject line should include “NEMO nomination lastnameX” where the lastnameX includes the complete list of faculty for a nomination to facilitate processing of the nomination. 

Nominations are due by 5:00pm EST on April 3, 2020.

 

REVIEW OF NOMINATIONS AND FINALIST SELECTION

All nominations received will be reviewed by a senior advisory committee composed of faculty from Penn Engineering and Penn Medicine. Up to five (5) nominations will be selected as finalists. If selected as a finalist, nominee(s) will be asked to present their concept to an advisory panel in April. Selection and announcement of the awardee will occur in May 2020. 

 

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Check back soon for more information. For all other questions, please contact NEMO@seas.upenn.edu.

1. What is the criteria that the review committee will use to review submissions?

Nominations and Submissions will be evaluated based on:

        • the impact of the proposed innovation
        • the team composition

2. Does the review committe prefer submissions from investigator(s) with no prior collaborative work or from ongoing collaborative teams?

Both new and existing collaborations are acceptable.

3. Is eligibility restricted to Faculty?

Yes, only faculty from Penn Engineering and Penn Medicine are eligible to apply.

4. Can graduate students apply?

No. At this time, only faculty nominations will be accepted.

5. Can the nominee team comprise of Penn faculty, Penn graduate students, and non Penn researchers?

The team can include trainees as well as people outside of Penn.

6. What are contractual obligations of the nominees onces the nominations are accepted?

The award is expected to support the research costs for the proposed breakthrough idea. The awardee(s) is(are) provided the authority to spend the funds as they deem appropriate.