Merkin Bridge Fellowships

Call for Merkin Institute Bridge Fellowship (MBF)Applications were due by Friday, January 24th, 2025

Aim:

Enable graduate students and postdocs to continue to focus on and bridge the development of projects originating at Caltech toward translational impact. At least one position will be funded. Applicants who provide evidence and are viewed as likely be able to leverage Merkin Institute funding to attract additional, external, non-Merkin Institute funding will be prioritized.

Who can apply:

Promising graduating students (Thesis committee must confirm within 1 year of defense date at time of application),
Graduates or current postdocs of Caltech labs conducting research with translational potential -- or translational by design,
Recent graduates who are still engaged with Caltech-originated research and can leverage external funds as collaborating visitors based at a host lab.

For this call, translational impact is broadly defined and could include plans to:

Collect data that will strengthen an application for add-on or stand-alone external funding for the project's next stage (SBIR, health-focused philanthropies, NIH, VC seed, for example).
Work with OTTCP to start a company to attract investors.
Assemble and lead a start-up team in Caltech's incubator or, if necessary, at a local incubator (e.g. next stage for a successful Nucleate team led by the MBF applicant).

Merkin Institute support:

Merkin Bridge Fellow support will be decided on a case-by-case basis to a total maximum of $200k/yr (Salary, benefits, and direct research costs). Duration of MBF support is for one year with the possibility of an additional year via competitive renewal. NOTE: For the duration of the Fellowship, MBFs will be classified as Caltech staff members. Proposed budgets should focus primarily on costs to conduct independent translational experiments that are not part of the Fellow's host lab's work.

Host Lab(s) requirements:

A proposed project must be conceived and driven by the future fellow in collaboration with the host PI(s). While it can be an immediate or obvious extension of ongoing or proposed research in the host lab or labs, novel ideas that have accelerated timelines are encouraged. Proposals should follow the Application Template below.

Merkin Bridge Fellows must have a clearly translational research plan with clearly described aims that will attract follow-on investment to progress toward clinical applications. Novel applications of methods and variations across labs are encouraged. The project should be designed to have defined milestones and generate go/no-go data for an innovative direction or novel technology that will ultimately translate to improve human health. Merkin Bridge Fellow projects that are at later stages on a path toward translation will be prioritized. The purpose and vision for translation must be clearly stated with specified milestones. Collaboration between the Merkin Bridge Fellow applicant and other senior students (e.g. post-candidacy and/or within two years of graduating) or postdocs in the same or different labs to create a start-up team is encouraged, but not required. If a start-up is planned, the path should be aligned with PI/Lab expectations regarding any team member(s) lab roles and achieving graduation requirements.

Application Template (Required components, up to 5 pages total):

Lay Abstract.

A very brief (150-200 words) non-confidential, non-technical summary of your technology and its practical use/commercial application which may be shared with Caltech donors. Include a helpful figure/illustration in this section.

2. Description of the ultimate product or service.

If your proposal is successful and you start a company or the technology is licensed, what is the product? What would be sold?

3. Outline of your commercialization path in terms of milestones must be completed for your technology to become a product or service.

Example: Step 1) in vitro studies, 2) in vivo studies, 3) animal studies/pre-clinical, 4) human trials

4. Further detail and plans for the milestones you intend to achieve using your Merkin funding.

Example: Milestone 1: Details for completing in vitro studies, Milestone 2: Rationale for and steps to complete in vivostudies in one animal model.

5. Market Analysis

What is the unmet need in the marketplace? What are the current competing technologies? What is the advantage over the competition? Example: Current gene sequencer takes 2 hours, but ours can be completed in 5 minutes

As best you can, provide a rough estimate of the market size. Example: The US non-small-cell lung cancer drug market is currently estimated at $35 billion and expected to double in the next five years.

6. Cost Analysis*

Will your technology have a cost advantage or at least be competitive with the market?

7. Scalability*

Can you manufacture your technology on a mass scale? What are hurdles to scalability? (We understand that this may be very difficult to predict for some technologies, speculate as best you can. Example: Feasibility to manufacture 1mg of a chemical versus 1kg).

8. IP Status

What is the current IP status of your project? Example: 4 provisional applications filed and 1 issued patent.

9. Budget

List direct costs (up to $75K)
Fellow's salary and benefits may be included, at post-doctoral level (with appropriate years of experience)
DAF approval required and should be included in proposal submission

10. Faculty Statement

An appended short statement obtained from the Caltech Professor(s) whose lab(s) will host the Merkin Fellow indicating they support the application and project plan.

*: Responses for these components may be tentative for projects in earlier stages of commercialization.

Proposal Submission Instructions:

Attach your proposal (in pdf format) to an email and send it to this Box address: MBF_202.8ux0vs7y8f2aesw4@u.box.com This will automatically deposit the attached proposal in the submission folder. You should receive an automated confirmation of receipt. If you do not receive the expected automated confirmation, report that failure in an email to George Tolomiczenko (gtolomic@caltech.edu), attaching your application pdf to the message.

Name your attached proposal file as follows: TRF_SubN_Last Name_First Name. For example, the second (corrected or updated) proposal submitted from Zeppo Marx would be named "TRF_Sub2_Marx_Zeppo" His first submission would have been "TRF_Sub1_Marx_Zeppo"

The submission deadline is Friday, January 24th, 2025.