By
Anita Srikameswaran and Tim Betler
Just
as a reality TV show gives contestants an opportunity to share their
inventions, the Pitt Innovation Challenge, or PInCH, aims to give scientists
and other community members a venue to be creative and develop new answers to
the question: “How do we empower individuals to take control of their own
health outcomes?”
The University
of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI),
in collaboration with the university’s Office
of the Provost and the Innovation
Institute, is offering $300,000 in funding to three winners and also
will provide them with project managers to implement the best ideas.
Anyone
can enter, and teams that bring together collaborators from different
perspectives, institutions and disciplines are encouraged, but at least one
member of the team must be a Pitt faculty member. If needed, PInCh organizers
will help community members connect with a member of the faculty. The solution
could be a device, a software application, an intervention strategy or any
other approach that could address the health problem the team identifies.
Watch
PInCh program director John Maier, M.D., explain to a Pitt scientist how the
competition works, and think fast! The deadline to submit a two-minute video
entry is March 2. For more information, go to www.pinch.pitt.edu.Labels: patient engagement, University of Pittsburgh Clinical and Translational Science Institute