Innovations to Improve Quality of Life
The mission of the TTIA program is to commercialize technology that will improve the quality of life for people with Down Syndrome and other disabilities. The Deshpande Center will assist MIT faculty and students in commercializing their technologies, taking promising ideas and innovations and turning them into products and services. While the focus is to help people with Down Syndrome, the innovations are also likely to aid a much broader population.
Grants will typically be for $50,000 for one year, and may be renewed. Grants for more than $50,000 will require addional justification. Proposals can be submitted at any time, and funding decisions will be made within one month of submission. There are no submission deadlines, or pre-determined project start dates.
For more information, please visit the TTIA program at the Desphande Center.
We recommend that you talk with people who understand the needs of the Down Syndrome community before submitting your proposal. The staff at the Deshpande Center and the MIT Alana program can assist you.
Becoming a Fellow
Fellows will work side by side with faculty members in Center labs on novel and innovative scientific research directly related to the center’s mission to improve knowledge about Down syndrome and to advance potential therapies or treatments.
The program provides support for up to five fellowships at one time. To be chosen as an Alana Fellow, candidates must submit, together with the support and nomination of a faculty mentor, an outstanding proposal in the scope of Down syndrome research.
To learn more about becoming a fellow, visit Call for Fellows, or contact Emily Niederst, Strategic Director of the ADSC.