CIMIT Grants Glossary of Terms Print this page

Career Development Awards
CIMIT Consortium
CIMIT Staff
Consultation Resources
Fast Forward Grants
Innovation (Science) Grants
Interoperability
New Concept Grants
Program Leaders
Site Miner
Young Clinician Awards

CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS:
These awards allow an individual with established expertise in one medical or technical area to acquire knowledge in a second medical or technical area that will allow him/her to make unique subsequent interdisciplinary contributions. A mentor must be identified in the new area, and the applicant and mentor must together develop an educational curriculum to acquire the additional knowledge base. A clear picture of the type of contributions that will be possible by completing the proposed curriculum must be articulated.

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CIMIT CONSORTIUM:
Applicants for Grants must be associated with an organization in the CIMIT Consortium. Consortium institutions includes Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Medical Center, Boston University, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Children's Hospital Boston, Draper Laboratory, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, MIT, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Partners HealthCare and VA Boston Healthcare System.

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CIMIT STAFF:
CIMIT has access to an extensive array of professionals with a vast range of expertise including building collaborations, overcoming stuck points, commercialization, regulatory compliance, legal and intellectual property issues, budget preparation, preparing for clinical trials, and helping with CSRL. CIMIT Staff are available to assist by answering questions, networking and making introductions.

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CONSULTATION RESOURCES:
CIMIT urges all investigators (especially first-time applicants) to contact the CIMIT Site Miner at your institution. The Site Miner can answer questions and connect you with CIMIT leaders and staff. They can help you network with other CIMIT institutions, suggest potential collaborators and advise on developing your pre-proposal application. For a list of all CIMIT leaders and staff, click here.

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FAST FORWARD GRANTS
These grants are designed to bring promising new clinical techniques from other sites (national and international) to CIMIT Consortium member institutions. To be considered for a Fast Forward grant, a project must involve direct patient care and be designed to change the way care is delivered to patient populations. The award is intended to help the successful applicant travel and learn at a leading center, practice the new skill/technique in a laboratory setting (if necessary) and obtain proctoring when performing the first clinical cases at a CIMIT site. Fast Forward Grants are matching grants.

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INNOVATION (SCIENCE) GRANTS:
These Grants are given to researchers with innovative ideas on improving patient care. Proposals from CIMIT Science Grants are evaluated in a competitive, scientific peer review process. A proposal often involves creation or enhancement of a medical device or system. They are often interdisciplinary and interinstitutional. CIMIT does not support drug development, information technology-centric projects or basic or clinical research.

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INTEROPERABILITY
The ability of two or more medical devices operating within a heterogeneous network to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged in a manner that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of the individual functional units.

The scope of interoperability can be considered at the device level, within the enterprise, or between enterprises. One can describe device levels of interoperability as ranging from unidirectional data aggregation to data/state exchange, to the ability of one device to control another. At first glance, it may seem that the complexity or risk to the patient increases from data aggregation to control, but some aggregation systems may be so complex that understanding and controlling all the risks may not be possible. Furthermore, there are clinical scenarios in which control of medical devices is very low risk – lower than in current medical practice.

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NEW CONCEPT GRANTS:
This non-renewable, entry-level award is designed to allow initial exploration of a new idea. Criteria includes the novelty of the technology and its potential application to healthcare. Proposals must include interdisciplinary and interinstitutional collaboration.

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PROGRAM LEADERS:
Program Leaders are recognized leaders in their field who work to enhance interactions among investigators and position local efforts for national recognition. Program Leaders advise CIMIT on emerging areas of research in their field and guide CIMIT decision making.

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SITE MINER:
A Site Miner is a medical professional on the faculty at a CIMIT institution. The CIMIT Site Miner serves as a liaison between the institution and CIMIT. He or she can answer questions, develop suggestions and provide advice. The Site Miner is a valuable resource to applicants and investigators.

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YOUNG CLINICIAN AWARDS:
This is an award to "younger" clinicians of consortium hospitals (perhaps an instructor or assistant professor) to study a specific area of clinical interest. Most successful applicants are interdisciplinary researchers doing CIMIT-like device development.

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