Two compelling competitions to advance innovation—the BRIght Futures Prize and Stepping Strong Innovator Awards—are currently underway at BWH, and voters from BWH and beyond will determine the winners. Both competitions feature inventive ideas from across the hospital community, and each competition’s winner will receive a $100,000 prize.

The BRIght Futures Prize supports BWH investigators as they work to answer provocative questions or solve vexing problems in medicine. The fourth annual BRIght Futures Prize competition features three projects that have the potential to make a difference in patients’ lives.

You can learn more about the three finalists—BWH researchers and clinicians Christopher Fanta, MD, Wilfred Ngwa, MD, PhD, and William Savage, MD—in this issue of BWH Bulletin. The BRIght Futures Prize will be presented at Discover Brigham (formerly known as Research Day) on Oct. 7.

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE BRIGHT FUTURES PRIZE

The Stepping Strong Innovator Awards program is part of the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Fund that was established by the Reny family following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, which left Gillian Reny, a student and aspiring dancer, with severe injuries to both of her legs. The fund’s goal is to support and advance clinical and research efforts related to trauma, enabling patients who have suffered from traumatic, athletic, military or disease-related limb injuries to return to their highest level of function and mobility. This award seeks to inspire innovative research addressing clinical problems in areas related to limb reconstruction, limb transplant, advanced stem cell technology, orthopedic and plastic surgery, bioengineering and rehabilitation.

You can learn more about the three finalists—BWH researchers and clinicians Omid Farokhzad, MD, Su-Ryon Shin, PhD, and Bohdan Pomahac, MD—and their projects in this issue as well, view a video about their work below and cast your vote here. The Stepping Strong Innovator Awards winner will also be announced at Discover Brigham.

CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE STEPPING STRONG INNOVATOR AWARDS

Be sure to cast your vote in both competitions, and help spread the word via social media!