Updates and opportunities in health and life sciences
To the members of the MIT community,
We write to share key updates on the MIT Health and Life Sciences Collaborative (MIT HEALS) and to invite you to join us at an MIT HEALS Info Session on Monday, April 28, at 3:30 p.m. in the Schwarzman College of Computing building (Building 45) to connect with collaborators and explore new opportunities.
Supported by new resources from new collaborations, MIT HEALS is proud to launch this first wave of programs and funding opportunities to accelerate discoveries, build cross-disciplinary collaborations, and train students and researchers — from undergraduates to postdocs — to join the next generation of leaders in life sciences and healthcare.
Funding Opportunities
MIT HEALS will provide a variety of funding and programmatic support to advance bold, cross-disciplinary research — engaging faculty, research staff, and students at all levels, including undergraduates:
- MIT HEALS Seed Grant Program: Launching with a call for proposals later this spring, this program will provide $6 million in total funding for interdisciplinary research across MIT.
- MIT-MGB Seed Program: Supported by a gift from Analog Devices, this program will fund six collaborative research projects from researchers at MIT and Mass General Brigham annually, providing approximately $300,000 per team along with networking, entrepreneurship training, and industry mentorship.
- Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation Grants: Providing funds to faculty interested in bringing transformative health and life science ideas to market, these grants will fund up to 7 project ideas next year. More details to come.
Fellowship Opportunities
As a foundational component of MIT HEALS, fellowship opportunities will help us attract the brightest early-career researchers and support current MIT students looking to make an impact in the health and life science disciplines. Fellowship opportunities include:
- Undergraduate Research: Funding up to 50 Undergraduate Research Opportunities Programs (UROPs) per session, including standalone UROPs and SuperUROPs. There will be an info session about the HEALS Summer UROP Program on Tuesday, April 22, at 12:30 p.m.
- Graduate Fellowships: Supporting 30 graduate fellowships across the Institute, with applications for 2025–2026 fellowships opening this spring. There will be an info session on May 12 at 1 p.m. in the Whitehead Auditorium.
- Biswas Fellows: Fully funded four-year postdoctoral program for an annual cohort of five outstanding early-career scholars focused on high-impact research in the life sciences and health. Applications open in May, and there will be an info session on Thursday, May 15, at 12 p.m.
- MIT Novo Nordisk Artificial Intelligence Postdoctoral Fellows Program: Launched in 2023 and now part of MIT HEALS, this program supports up to 10 postdoctoral fellows annually at the intersection of AI and data science with life sciences.
Area-specific Programming
To unlock breakthroughs in foundational research and drive scalable solutions, MIT HEALS will launch and support targeted programs across key fields. Initiatives such as the Hood Pediatric Innovation Hub, the MIT Program for Health Sciences & Semiconductors, and the Fairbairn Menstruation Science Fund will offer funding, networking, and educational opportunities to accelerate progress in these critical areas. Additional details about opportunities associated with these programs will be shared in the coming weeks and months.
Collectively, these initiatives can help us strengthen and grow MIT’s health and life sciences ecosystem. We invite you to learn more and connect with peers at the MIT HEALS Info Session on Monday, April 28. If you have any questions in the meantime, contact us at mit-heals@mit.edu.
Sincerely,
Anantha Chandrakasan
Chief Innovation and Strategy Officer
Dean of Engineering
Head, MIT HEALS
Angela Koehler
Faculty Director, MIT HEALS
Iain Cheeseman
Associate Faculty Director, MIT HEALS
Katharina Ribbeck
Associate Faculty Director, MIT HEALS