The Blazer Bridge Fund, underwritten and administered by the Bill Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (HIIE), is an early-stage translational fund aiming to support the development of novel intellectual property (IP) to attract licensee interest and/or position the technology for intellectual property protection.

The Blazer Bridge Fund is slated to fund five to six projects per round at a maximum of $50,000 per project. The 2025 funding round call for applications is now open until May 30, 2025.

Eligibility

Faculty members and staff are eligible to apply. Graduate students, medical residents, fellows, and postdocs may apply with the support of a faculty advisor or mentor.

To be eligible for the award, the applicant must submit or have previously submitted an IP disclosure covering the proposal's project. Technologies currently licensed are not eligible.

If you have issues with your submission, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Terms of Award

The funds must be spent within 12 months of the award date, and a no-cost extension may be available on request. Applicants may submit multiple proposals.

The Blazer Bridge Fund supports:

• Prototype or software development
• Contract work with CROs
• Wages for consultants
• Humanization of antibodies
• Research that leads to enhancing existing IP, including lead optimization, toxicity studies, etc.

^*Please note that salary support is restricted to $10,000 per award, and no salary support for UAB faculty is allowed.

The Blazer Bridge Fund WILL NOT support:

• Target discovery or high throughput screening (HTS)
• Basic research

Furthermore, if the project funded by the BBF is commercialized and generates revenue, the HIIE will reimburse the award amount to the BBF fund to ensure the long-term sustainability of the BBF fund.

Application, Timeline, and Evaluation Process

• Timeline:
  • April 7: Applications open
  • May 30: Application deadline
  • June 4: Evaluation process begins
  • August 31: Evaluation process ends
  • September 16: Winners announced
  • October 1: Beginning of award use period
• An internal committee will evaluate proposals and select 10 to 15 semifinalists.
• An external committee will evaluate all the semifinalist proposals.
• Both the internal and external committees will evaluate proposals based on the criteria listed below.
• The internal committee will provide feedback to all applicants, and both committees will provide feedback to semifinalists.
• Awardees must provide an account number within two weeks after the winners' announcement to maintain their award.
• Awardees must provide a mid-year update by March 15, 2026, and a final update no later than two weeks after the 12-month award period.

BBF Proposal Evaluation Criteria

• Project outcome
• Commercial promise
• Development status
• Approach
• Expertise
• Prospects for raising additional capital

The Blazer Bridge Fund aims to foster collaboration across UAB departments and schools. Therefore, projects involving cross-disciplinary or interdepartmental collaboration will receive additional consideration.

Previously Successful Proposals

• Blazer Bridge Fund continues encouraging innovative discoveries; announces 2024 winners
• Project to predict and prevent apnea in premature babies receives Blazer Bridge Fund support
• First-ever Blazer Bridge Fund grant recipients announced
• Faculty member’s Blazer Bridge Fund project aims to support classroom teachers

Apply

Download application Opens a word document.

When you have completed the application, please send it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Contact

For questions about the BBF, please reach out to your Licensing Associate or send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..