Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CHIE)

Learn what it takes to bring an innovation to market, and enroll in the I-Corps@NCATS (National Center for Advancing Translational Science) training program. This course is based on the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps and I-Corps at National Institutes for Health (NIH) Entrepreneurial Training Program, which combines training using the Business Model Canvas and the customer discovery process.

The program encourages experiential and interdisciplinary learning. It is open to teams of academics, biomedical scientists, clinicians, engineers and students. The curriculum provides a real-world, hands-on, immersive learning experience in how to transform innovations into successful products and services.

Click through for program dates, format and contact for our next cohort, Fall 2025 I-Corps@NCATS training. 

The mental health of early career professionals is a critical issue that significantly impacts individual well-being and overall organizational productivity. These early career professionals, often at a pivotal stage in their lives, face unique challenges such as high stress, workplace pressure and the transition from academic to professional environments. Making this transition all the more daunting, access to mental health support is not always equitable, with disparities based on socioeconomic status, race, gender and other factors. We are asking innovators across the ecosystem:

How might we better support mental health equity in the workplace?

We are seeking solutions that address one or more of the following tracks:

Mental health support for students transitioning to the workplace
Mental health support for early career professionals

Loyola Chicago is seeking innovative solutions from companies, community and nonprofit organizations, startups and universities.

Learn more about the Health Equity Quest 2024

2023 HEALTH EQUITY QUEST 

From developing more sustainable products and processes to providing care to those affected by climate change, the U.S. health care system plays a vital role in accelerating progress to combat climate change. As such, our goal in 2023 was to convene national thought leaders who are disrupting the space including: major health systems, established and startup companies, university faculty and student researchers, community organizations, patient groups, government and health industry policy makers. 

The Summit was held at MATTER (and livestreamed) on November 8th, 2023. It focused on empowering communities to respond to climate related health threats, while reducing inequitable health impacts of climate change by promoting collaboration among stakeholders in generating and implementing solutions for sustainable healthcare delivery. The solutions presented helped to guide research, policy and practice agendas for reducing health inequities caused by climate change, particularly in vulnerable populations.

2022 HEALTH EQUITY QUEST 

Climate change poses detrimental threats to public health, and its effects are exacerbated for certain communities based on factors such as socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, gender, and access to care. We are therefore called to invite innovators to help answer the question: How might we empower communities with innovative solutions to address health disparities and climate change?

Loyola University Chicago’s Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health and MATTER launched the 2022 Loyola Chicago Health Equity Quest on August 2, 2022. The competition allowed for advancing innovative solutions that address health disparities and climate change and prepared contestants for the Live Pitch on October 27, 2022. From developing more sustainable products and processes to providing care to those affected by climate change, the U.S. healthcare system plays a vital role in accelerating progress to combat climate change. Loyola and MATTER invited innovators across industries and disciplines to submit forward-thinking and creative solutions, ideas, or concepts for technologies, methodologies, and services that create more sustainable health delivery or reduce or treat the health effects of climate change.

Read further to see the winning solutions! 

2021 INNOVATION CHALLENGE 

The 2021 Innovation Challenge took place virtually on November 16-17 and was open to entrepreneurs from diverse sectors working to address the effects of emerging infectious diseases (such as COVID-19) by improving population and public health, health care delivery, and health equity. Finalists were selected to compete at the Challenge and pitch their companies’ solutions to a panel of independent judges from a range of industries, including experts in the fields of public health, venture philanthropy, technology, and health care. Solutions presented ranged from biotechnology and contact tracing platforms to virtual clinics, wearables, and other products for consumers and healthcare professionals. 

CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

The Parkinson School and CHIE was proud to sponsor two events as part of the 2022 Climate Change Conference hosted by Loyola's School of Environmental Sustainability. The conference examined the intersection of climate change, human health, and justice. 

BEYOND CRISIS MANAGEMENT 

In partnership with Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business, the Parkinson School launched the webinar series, Beyond Crisis Management, to help provide timely, actionable guidance to leaders on how to address the challenges of COVID-19. 

REBUILDING BEYOND COVID  

On November 16, 2021, the CHIE welcomed its partners from MATTER for a virtual conversation about health equity and the role of innovation. Learn more about Rebuilding Beyond COVID-19: Healthy, Sustainable, and Resilient Health Systems.

The Parkinson School is uniquely positioned to improve population health equity and healthcare delivery. As we inspire, mentor, and train Parkinson students to become public health and healthcare entrepreneurs, we partner and collaborate with organizations in this space. We're excited to collaborate with Chicago's innovation and health ecosystem through our partnerships with MATTER, HC3 and ISTC. 

MATTER is a global healthcare startup incubator, community nexus, and corporate innovation accelerator headquartered in Chicago. 

HC3-a member-driven organization that harnesses the intelligence and resources of Chicago’s nationally recognized health care industry to create local solutions with a real impact. 

ISTC- Authorized by state statute in 1989 as Illinois’ technology adviser, we serve as a convener, catalyst, and champion for Illinois’ research, science, and technology communities. By providing our members and partners with a shared voice, the ISTC delivers measurable economic impact and positions Illinois as a national innovation leader.

The Parkinson School is hosted a series centered around Using Implementation Science to Improve Health Outcomes in Spring 2023. The sessions were open to Loyola students, faculty and staff, as well as Institution for Translational Medicine (ITM) faculty and members. 

Be the Change: Using Implementation Science to Improve Health Outcomes

In the introductory, seminar-style course, we discussed why implementation science is needed, some of the key theories and frameworks related to implementation science, engagement of key stakeholders and community in the process, the importance of identifying barriers and facilitators to change, and how to sustain and spread change.

Sponsored by the Institute for Translational Medicine and the Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute, with faculty from Loyola University Chicago and the University of Colorado.

Transform Innovation Into Impact This immersive, hands-on bootcamp-style certificate program is designed for health science researchers and healthcare/public health professionals looking to accelerate the impact of their work. Learn key strategies to successfully implement and sustain innovations in real-world settings. Designed in an executive education format, this program combines academic rigor with real-world application.

The 2025-26 program will be offered at no cost thanks to support from the Institute for Translational Medicine.