Attend the Building Education to Advance Research Cage competition this afternoon to hear the top three finalists selected by the DDDD Committee defend their submitted research proposals in competition for a $5,000 grand prize.

The early career investigators will pitch their innovative research proposals to a panel of translational science experts representing academia, industry, and governmental sectors, and compete for the grand prize before a live audience. The presenters of the two runner-up proposals will each receive $2,500.

As the judges are deliberating, last year’s BEAR Cage winner, Jake Brenner, MD, PhD, will present an update on his project, “Pulmonary Endothelial-Targeted Liposomes for the Treatment of ARDS” and share his experience as a BEAR Cage mentee.

Early career investigators who are ATS members were encouraged to submit innovative clinical or translational science research proposals to the ATS BEAR Cage competition, hosted by the ATS Drug Device Discovery and Development Committee, prior to the conference. Applications were received from around the world, representing the ATS pillars of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. The committee invited the investigators with the top selected proposals to present Sunday, in a setting that facilitates discussion and leads to collaboration, mentorship, and improvement of the proposals. The 2017 finalists are:

“Chest CT at Chest X-Ray Radiation Dose”
Marcus Y. Chen, MD
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

“Communicating With Mechanically Ventilated Patients”
Prema R. Menon, MD, PhD
University of Vermont Medical Center

“Unmasking Resistance: Impact of Low-Frequency Drug Resistance on Molecular Diagnosis of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis”
Sanghyuk Shin, PhD
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health

Launched in 2015, this unique program supports innovation in translational research and provides mentorship to junior professionals with novel ideas.

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