MIT HEALS Seed Grant Call for Applications

MIT HEALS Seed Grants Funded Projects Sept 2025

View the Projects

About The Grant

​​The MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (MIT HEALS) is now accepting applications for Seed Grants. This program will provide seed funding to support collaborative projects at the cutting edge of health and life sciences with the goal of catalyzing new interactions, developing new technologies and methodologies, generating core datasets, and accelerating discovery.

The proposed work must touch on a key aspect of health and/or the life sciences, consistent with the core mission of HEALS. We encourage proposals from across all Schools, the College, Departments, and units at MIT. These grants are particularly designed to support teams of researchers whose work crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries and integrates diverse approaches to develop bold, paradigm-shifting ideas.

  • Break conventional disciplinary silos and merge expertise from multiple fields
  • Ask new and ambitious scientific questions—not just incremental advances, but entirely new ways of understanding health and life sciences
  • Develop solutions to critical problems or bottlenecks where new approaches are needed
  • Harness cutting-edge technologies, methodologies, or theoretical frameworks to transform a field
  • Build new partnerships between collaborators who haven’t worked together before and aim to try out new, potentially risky ideas
  • Push beyond traditional research constraints, particularly those that struggle to fit within standard grant mechanisms
  • Create a framework to generate tangible preliminary findings towards obtaining long term external funding support
  • Have the potential to transform health and life sciences

We will consider applications in any research area that touches on health and life sciences.

MIT HEALS Seed Grants Funded Projects September 2025

Breakthrough Grants

Mapping the Multi-Body Multi-Organ Dynamics of the Maternal-Fetal System

  • Polina Golland (EECS), Polina Anikeeva (DMSE), Tal Cohen (CEE), Alan Jasanoff (BE), Xuanhe Zhao (MechE)

RNA-Binding Proteins in Health and Disease Mechanophore Hydrogels for Probing How Matrix Toughness Impacts Cellular Behaviors

  • Chris Burge (Biology), Ankur Jain (Biology), Angela Koehler (BE), Armando Solar-Lezama (EECS), Michael Yaffe (Biology)

Innovator Grants

Mechanophore Hydrogels for Probing How Matrix Toughness Impacts Cellular Behaviors

  • Jeremiah Johnson (Chemistry), Ming Guo (MechE)

Transforming Ovarian Cancer Treatment

  • Graham Walker (Biology), Paula Hammond (ChemE), Michael Hemann (Biology)

Building a Bridge Between Cancer Biology and Neurodegeneration

  • Michael Yaffe (Biology), Li-Huei Tsai (BCS)

Cytoplasmic Delivery Shuttles for Designer Miniprotein Drugs

  1. Amy Keating (Biology), Ron Raines (Chemistry), Dane Wittrup (BE)

A New Platform to Investigate Cancer Cachexia-Associated Muscle Wasting

  • Matt Vander Heiden (Biology), Ritu Raman (MechE), Paul Blainey (BE)

A Synthetic Biomimic Platform Against Ovarian Cancer

  • Paula Hammond (ChemE), Angie Belcher (BE), Stefani Spranger (Biology)

Elucidating How Proteostasis Networks Enable Oncogene Mutagenesis and Tumor Evolution

  • Joey Davis (Biology), Francisco Sanchez-Rivera (Biology), Matt Shoulders (Chemistry)

AI-Powered Integration of Static Multiplexed and Dynamic Label-Free Imaging to Map Immune Regulatory Circuits at the Tissue Scale

  • Harikesh Wong (Biology), Sixian You (EECS), Hernandez Moura Silva (Biology)

An Affordable, Non-Invasive Diabetes Screening Method and Device for Low-Resource Settings

  • Amos Winter (MechE), Loza Tadesse (MechE)

Leveraging AI, Supply Chain Analytics, Empirical Methods, and Low-Cost Sensing of Food Contact Chemicals to Enhance Assessment and Mitigation of Health Risks Emerging from Processed Foods

  • Retsef Levi (Sloan), Karen Zheng (Sloan), Ariel Furst (ChemE)

Data-Driven Functional and Cognitive Assessments of the Cutaneous Mechaneuronal Interface (CMI)

  • Hugh Herr (Media Lab), Nidhi Seethapathi (BCS)

Identifying Anxiety Subtypes via Neurocomputational Phenotyping in Social Interactions

  • Rebecca Saxe (BCS), Rahul Bhui (Sloan)

Understanding How Hemodynamics Impact Fontan-Associated Liver Disease Through Computational and Liver-on-Chip Modeling

  • Ellen Roche (MechE), Sangeeta Bhatia (EECS)

Developing a Platform for In Situ Spatially-Resolved, Single-Molecule Protein Sequencing

  • Sam Peng (Chemistry), Ed Boyden (BE)

Textile-Based Personalized Ultrasound Wearable Device for Continuous At-Home Breast Monitoring

  • Canan Dagdeviren (Media Lab), Dava Newman (AeroAstro)

Microbiome Engineering via Programmable Cell Adhesion to Generate Novel Living Biotherapeutics

  • Tami Lieberman (IMES), Ariel Furst (ChemE), Otto Cordero (CEE)

Characterization of Metabolite Exchange in the World’s Most Abundant Photosynthetically Driven Microbial Communities

  • Matt Vander Heiden (Biology), Penny Chisholm (CEE)

HEALS Seed Grant proposals were reviewed by faculty from across MIT. The reviewers were:

  • Mark Bear (Brain and Cognitive Sciences)
  • Paul Blainey (Biological Engineering)
  • Eliezer Calo Velazquez (Biology)
  • Iain Cheeseman (Biology)
  • Tal Cohen (Civil and Environmental Engineering)
  • Connor Coley (Chemical Engineering)
  • Joern Dunkel (Math)
  • Bevin Engelward (Biological Engineering)
  • John Gabrieli (Brain and Cognitive Sciences)
  • Polina Golland (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science)
  • Alan Grossman (Biology)
  • Jonathan Gruber (Economics)
  • Angela Koehler (Biological Engineering)
  • Retsef Levi (Management)
  • Sebastian Lourido (Biology)
  • Amy Moran-Thomas (Anthropology)
  • Elizabeth Nolan (Chemistry)
  • Katharina Ribbeck (Biological Engineering)
  • Matthew Shoulders (Chemistry)
  • Julien Tailleur (Physics)
  • Michal Tal (Biological Engineering)
  • Bin Zhang (Chemistry)

Eligibility and Funding

We are looking for bold, cross-disciplinary research projects tackling major challenges or problems in health and life sciences. The grant is open to all MIT faculty and PIs whose work aligns with the HEALS mission. We encourage applications from those whose research:

  • Bridges disciplines and integrates approaches from different fields and departments
  • Explores new conceptual frameworks to tackle complex health challenges
  • Develops cutting-edge tools, technologies, or methodologies, including collaborations that provide support to scientific core facilities
  • Has the potential to transform health and/or life sciences

All MIT faculty and PIs whose work aligns with the HEALS mission are eligible. Although the work can involve collaborations with other institutions, no funds can be distributed to non-MIT collaborators. We particularly encourage applications from researchers whose work does not easily fit within traditional funding mechanisms but has the potential to make significant contributions to health and life sciences.

Innovator Grants

Innovator Grant proposals will be funded for one year and should include 2-3 MIT PIs. The budget should match the proposed work and needs of each research team within the collaboration, with average funding of ~$100k inclusive of indirect costs per lab or research group. However, based on specific budget needs and requirements, higher or lower funding levels will be considered. These grants are intended to seed new collaborations or provide proof of concept for future ambitious proposals. Teams will be given the opportunity to apply to renew their research projects, with evidence of clear and effective collaboration and progress within the first year serving as key elements for consideration. In total, approximately $3M will be distributed to Innovator Grants for this coming year.

Breakthrough Grants

Breakthrough Grant proposals will be funded for two years and should include 4-5 MIT PIs. The budget should match the proposed work and needs of each research team within the collaboration, with average funding of ~$100k-$200k per year inclusive of indirect costs per lab or research group. However, based on specific budget needs and requirements, higher or lower funding levels will be considered. These grants are intended to fund established and emerging ideas that are poised to transform health and life sciences. A core goal of Breakthrough Grants is to enable a framework for long-term success. Project teams will work with MIT Research Development to develop plans for follow-on funding, including identifying opportunities for external grants, and will benefit from support in enabling these funding opportunities. We anticipate funding 3-4 Breakthrough Grants, 1-2 of which will be focused on AI and health. In total, approximately $3M will be distributed to Breakthrough Grants for this coming year.

Collaborative Grant Framework

HEALS seeks to provide not just funding, but to create an intellectual ecosystem where risk-taking, boundary-pushing, and paradigm-shifting ideas can thrive.

We particularly encourage grant applications that create new research directions from teams of researchers that cross traditional disciplines and boundaries, including researchers in different departments, career stages, and disciplines. We encourage the formation of new collaborations, connections, and research directions. Each individual research team that is part of the collaboration must be led by an MIT-affiliated faculty or PI. No funding can be distributed to collaborators outside of MIT.

HEALS Grant Expectations

Unlike traditional grants, HEALS-funded faculty are expected to be part of an intellectually vibrant and interdisciplinary cohort, with structured opportunities to collaborate, exchange ideas, and refine their scientific vision. Participating in these activities is a central expectation for receiving a grant from HEALS.

Quarterly meetings: Faculty will present their research, receive peer feedback, and participate in discussions on emerging topics in health and life sciences.

Collaboration planning: Faculty are expected to participate in a workshop hosted by Research Development on establishing a constructive and effective framework for collaboration.

Institute-wide symposium: Faculty will showcase their work at an annual symposium, engaging with the broader research community.

Yearly grant report: 1 page describing accomplishments and follow on plans.

Timeline

April 28, 2025

Information Session

May 1, 2025

Application Opened

May & June 2025

Matchmaking workshops to seed new collaborations

July 31, 2025

Applications due

Sept 15, 2025

Applicants notified

Oct 1, 2025 – Sept 30, 2026

Grant period

Seed Grant Workshops

The workshops will provide opportunities to discuss research topics, meet other PIs, and establish new collaborative teams. Each workshop will provide opportunities to propose ideas and discuss a range of areas. In addition, to convene specific areas, we encourage those interested in the topics listed below to attend the corresponding workshop(s).

Workshop 1:

Monday, May 12 2025, 3-4:30pm , 76-156

Specific Topics: Nutrition; Health and society; Cancer biology and therapeutics; Rare human disease; Synthetic biology

Workshop 2:

Tuesday, May 20 2025, 2-3:30pm, 45-432

Specific Topics: AI and Health; Neuroscience; Mental health; Reimagining the future of health care; Computational and experimental approaches to protein structure

Workshop 3: 

Wednesday, June 11 2025, 2-3:30pm, 76-156

Specific Topics: Women’s Health; Health and society; Low-cost diagnostics; Pathogens and disease; The immune system; The virtual cell

Workshop 4: 

Thursday, June 26 2025, 3-4:30pm, 68-18

Specific Topics: AI and Health; Environmental life sciences; RNA biology; Aging; Advanced technologies to measure health or biology; Biomaterials

Application Components

  • Proposal of the planned research, with a total length of 2 pages per PI (e.g, a proposal from 3 PIs can be up to 6 pages), not counting figures or references. Sections should include:
    • Goal of the research overall, including relevant context and background
    • How the proposed work fits within the overall goals and mission of HEALS
    • Collaborative approach
      • Why is each PI’s contribution needed?
      • How will the group work together over the course of the grant period?
      • In what ways will the individual research groups depend on work from each other?
    • Individual research plans for each PI’s research group including a brief description of methods and any preliminary data, if available
  • Project Abstract
  • Lay Abstract
  • CV or biosketch from each applicant
  • Budget and justification indicating how grant funds will be used (one per PI, using the attached template)
  • 2-3 keywords to describe the research

Selection Criteria

The selection committee will evaluate applicants based on:

  • Scientific or engineering excellence and innovation
  • Potential to impact health and life sciences
  • Commitment to collaboration and constructive engagement in the cohort
  • Interdisciplinary scope and creativity
  • Nature of the proposed research team and the collaborative contributions of each team member for the success of the project
  • Evidence to support the tangible interactions and collaboration between team members; we are not looking to simply fund individual labs or research groups to work separately.
  • Preliminary data is not required, particularly for projects that take a new direction, but a justification of feasibility or a description of the prior work that provides a foundation for the proposed experiments is encouraged.

FAQ for PIs and DLCIs

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