The Bench to Bedside 2017-18 season begins this month with a Kick-Off Event on Sept. 21 and concludes with the Competition Night in April 2018. Top teams are awarded more than $80,000 in prize money to support further project development.
This exciting and vibrant program at the University of Utah introduces multi-disciplinary students to the world of medical, global health innovation. Now in its eighth year, Bench to Bedside has created 176 teams that have invented 180 medical devices, filed 117 patents and launched 38 companies. All students are welcome to participate.
The competition is sponsored by Zions Bank and managed by the U’s Center for Medical Innovation and Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute.
Student teams form into multidisciplinary startup companies and are given the task of identifying an unmet clinical need. Teams are given access to over 100 university physicians from a broad area of specialties to serve as their consultants, key opinion leaders and stakeholders.
The teams have six months and a $500 development fund to develop medical device concepts that address their identified need. In that six-month time period, students will have evaluated the intellectual property landscape, prototyped their design and constructed a business plan.
The Bench to Bedside competition launches at the annual Kick-Off Event in the Child Hall of the Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building on Sept. 21 at 5:30 p.m. The Kick-Off outlines and provides information on the six-month program. Speakers will include the Executive Director of the Center for Medical Innovation, Dr. John Langell, and the Executive Director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, Troy D’Ambrosio.
This year’s program will feature a new Reverse Pitch Night, since the Kick-Off and Reverse Pitch are on different nights. Physicians from a wide variety of specialties within the University of Utah will pitch clinical problems and medical device ideas to students. Students can team up with these physicians to create novel medical innovations.
The program culminates in a formal presentation of all team projects at an annual awards competition. The event draws participation from faculty physicians, residents, industry leaders, venture capital firms and university leadership. The team projects are evaluated and scored for business strategy, design quality and healthcare impact by a VIP panel of judges.
Undergraduate and graduate students from all backgrounds are invited to come join us in this opportunity to gain valuable experience in healthcare, business and innovation.
Learn more about Bench to Bedside and register on the program website: http://healthsciences.utah.edu/center-for-medical-innovation/bench-2-bedside/.
2017-18 Season Timeline
- Kick Off Event: Child Hall Business Building, Sept. 21 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Resource Seminar: CMI reserved on Sept. 26 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Team Building Seminar: Lassonde Studios, Sept. 28 from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Patent Search/Market Research Workshop: CMI, Oct. 3 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Physician Reverse Pitch: Oct. 18, time and location TBD
- Regulatory and Patent Writing Workshop: CMI, Nov. 2 5:30-7:30 p.m.
- Meet the Mentors Night: Child Ballroom Business Building, Nov. 13 6-8 p.m.
- Spring Semester Events:
- Second Reverse Pitch Event – Date Location TBD
- Business Plan Workshop – Date Location TBD
- Creating a Company Workshop – Date Location TBD
- Competition Preparation workshop – Date Location TBD
- Competition Night – State Capitol, April
