The Flash Grant program identifies and energizes creative ideas that exhibit early indications of exceptional commercial potential. Like a flash of inspiration, flash grants infuse a quick jolt of funding at a critical early point when a small, targeted influx of funds is crucial to shaping innovative research ideas into high-potential life sciences technologies.

Flash grants support short, tightly-focused research projects in these two categories:

• To obtain initial exploratory, proof-of-concept, or feasibility data necessary to suggest the disruptive potential of a life sciences technology
• To conduct the final experiment(s) needed to advance a basic life sciences research program into the translational research phase of development

These micro-grants provide funding for projects that ultimately generate follow-on funding, intellectual property filings, licenses, and startup company formation; however, the projects are too early for traditional grant funding mechanisms.

Cycle 2 is open to proposals in all areas of life sciences except Class I medical devices, consumer products, and mobile apps. 

Funds are available to researchers at any North Carolina university or non-profit research institute.

Flash Grant FAQs are found here: www.ncbiotech.org/grant-faq