Are you ready for the Shark Tank?
Cardiovascular Nanomedicine Competition
The George and Angelina Kostas Research Center for Cardiovascular Nanomedicine is inviting your team to submit a proposal to participate in the “Shark Tank” Cardiovascular Nanomedicine competition at The New Frontier of RNA Nanotherapeutics” Annual International Meeting on October 24, 2022 at Houston Methodist Academic Institute. During the “Shark Tank” Cardiovascular Nanomedicine competition, three research teams will compete for a $10,000 award to fund innovative ideas in the field of cardiovascular nanomedicine. Each team will be given 5 minutes to virtually present their research project, and the judges will be provided 10 minutes to ask questions and discuss the work. The judges (Sharks) will vote on the winning project deemed to be the most likely to be translated toward the clinic. The best projects are based upon innovative ideas that solve a cardiovascular problem, and have preliminary data showing feasibility, combined with a target product profile and a plan for clinical development. The winning team will be announced at the conclusion of the competition.
To participate in the “Shark Tank” competition, please submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by September 2.
Submission details are below.
LOI submission deadline: September 2, 2022.
LOI must be sent in PDF form to: events@houstonmethodist.org
Instructions for the Letter of Intent: Content and Layout (no more than 2 pages)
- Title of proposed project
- Leader (name, title, affiliation, telephone, email address)
- Key collaborators (names, titles, affiliations)
- Brief summary of project goals and plans/approaches
- Brief description of what is unique about the project
- Description of how you plan to accomplish the plan (timeline to reach patients)
- Outline what your prize of $10,000 will allow you to accomplish
Shark Tank Award: Houston Methodist Academic Institute will award $10,000 to one research team. The award will be effective 1/1/23 – 12/31/23.
The Shark Tank review committee will review the LOIs and select three finalists. All finalists will be invited to present their product concepts at the Kostas Cardiovascular Nanomedicine Annual International Meeting on October 24, 2022.
Selected Proposals/Finalists: Finalists will be required to pitch their venture at the “Shark Tank” Cardiovascular Nanomedicine competition at The New Frontier of RNA Nanotherapeutics” Annual International Meeting on October 24, 2022. Each presenter will have 5 minutes to present their concept, followed by 10 minutes of interactions with the judges on the “Shark Tank” panel.
Selecting a winner: The Shark Tank competition winner will be selected by a panel of judges (Sharks). The "Sharks" will vote on the winning project deemed to be the most likely to be translated toward the clinic. The best projects are based upon innovative ideas that solve a cardiovascular problem, and have preliminary data showing feasibility, combined with a target product profile and a plan for clinical development. The winning team will be announced at the conclusion of the competition.
For more details about The New Frontier of RNA Nanotherapeutics” Annual International Meeting, visit the event website: https://learn.houstonmethodist.org/kostas-2022
We look forward to hearing from you!
John P. Cooke, M.D., Ph.D.
Joseph C. "Rusty" Walter and Carole Walter Looke Presidential Distinguished Chair
Professor and Chair, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences
Director, Center for Cardiovascular Regeneration
Medical Director, Center for RNA Therapeutics
Chief Translational Science Officer
Houston Methodist Research Institute
