The National Institute on Aging has recently launched the Healthy Aging Start-Up Challenge and Bootcamp to Foster Diversity and Accelerate Innovation, a startup prize competition with a special focus on fostering diversity in AgeTech innovation and entrepreneurship.
Applicants for the Challenge should have innovative ideas for science-driven technologies and products that aim to promote healthy aging or address aging-related diseases or conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
Of particular interest are participants and ideas that have the potential to increase the diversity of NIA-funded small business research and development teams. The NIA strongly encourages researchers and entrepreneurs from groups underrepresented in the U.S. biomedical sciences and in life science entrepreneurship to apply.
In the course of the Challenge, up to 20 finalists will be selected to participate in a 4-month boot camp that will provide resources designed to help entrepreneurs overcome barriers to launching a startup and obtaining funding. The boot camp will include mentorship, networking opportunities, and entrepreneur and grant-application skill-building workshops.
Participation will be primarily virtual and will require finalists to commit about 4-6 hours per week during the boot camp, plus a 3- to 4-day in-person networking event scheduled for September 19-22, 2022 in Boston. (Travel expenses will be paid by the NIA). At the conclusion of the boot camp, finalists will pitch to be selected as one of up to five winners to each receive a $60,000 cash prize.
The deadline for applying for the Challenge is May 23, 2022. Interested? You can find out all the details here.
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