On Monday, October 5, 2020, a panel of “Sharks” listened to four research proposals competing for a $50,000 grant.

The Proposal Topics

  • Healthcare Workers and Mental Health
  • Infants Born to COVID-Positive Mothers
  • Models to Inform Policy and Decision Making
  • Virtual Reality for Medical Education

The Winners

Using National Best Practices to Inform Mental Health Treatment for Delaware Healthcare Workers in the Wake of COVID-19

Researchers:

Read the research proposal here. These researchers will have $50,000 to further their research towards healthcare workers’ mental health.

Congratulations!


Background

The DHSA Research Competition was established to foster collaboration between colleagues at our partner institutions.  We favor projects in population health, including topical areas of interest (in this case, COVID-19).

DHSA was established in 2009 with four founding partners – ChristianaCare, Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, Thomas Jefferson University, and the University of Delaware.  The newly expanded membership includes Bayhealth, the Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.  

This unique, broad-based partnership focuses innovative collaborations among colleagues in medical education and practice, health economics and policy, population sciences, public health, and biomedical sciences and engineering.   We encourage multidisciplinary collaborations with strong community engagement.

In 2019, the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA) launched its first annual Research Competition in ‘shark tank’ format, awarding a $50,000 grant to the winner.


Process of Review

  • All proposals were be vetted by a review committee.
  • The top proposals have advanced to a virtual presentation and pitch to the DHSA panel on October 5, 2020. 
  • A rubric will be utilized by the panel and a numerical score will be given to each proposal. 
  • The researcher(s) with the highest score will receive a check for $50,000 to fund their proposal. 

DHSA receives the right to evaluate the final project and timeline one year after awarding funds.  If funds have not been utilized after 12 months, upon review, DHSA will either grant an extension of time or require unused funds be returned to DHSA.

For any inquiries about the event, please contact Pamela Gardner (pgardner@dhsa.org).  We look forward to hearing from you!