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2022 CHIE

Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CHIE)

Improving public health through interdisciplinary research, partnerships and education at the intersection of health care, social justice and business.

The Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health created the Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CHIE) in 2020, as a central hub for scholars, community partners, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and students to engage in purpose-driven research and education with the goal of reducing health inequities and improving health care delivery for all.

WHAT WE'RE ABOUT

OUR MISSION: To cultivate a community of health entrepreneurship and innovation comprised of faculty, students, community and business leaders with a unifying mission to reduce health inequities and improve population health - through interdisciplinary research, collaboration and strategic partnerships guided by our Jesuit values and Ignatian pedagogy.

OUR VISION: To make a transformational impact on public health and equitable healthcare delivery as the leading Jesuit Catholic center for Public Health Entrepreneurship and Innovation by piloting, sustaining and scaling novel and disruptive solutions to major health challenges.

OUR TEAM: Our team is built with industry leaders who are immersed in technology, innovation, and problem-solving to develop advancements in the areas of sustainability and health equity for public health solutions.

MICHAEL BLOOM, Phd., Founding Director, Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Associate Clinical Professor Meet the Director 

MERLY THOMAS, MBA, MPH, Administrator, Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Bio)

WHAT WE DO

We catalyze innovation in teaching, research and service.

We create opportunities for Loyola faculty, students and staff to collaborate with community, industry and government on innovative health solutions.

We provide entrepreneurial training through I-Corps@NCATS (National Center for Advancing Translational Science) Program. 

We offer a wide range of programs including pitch competitions, seminars and summits such as the Loyola Chicago Health Equity Quest- offering opportunities for the Loyola community and our external partners to engage, connect and collaborate.

Please view the CHIE Annual Report  to read more about our 2022-2023 initiatives and programming. 

I-CORPS@NCATS

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. 

HEALTH EQUITY QUEST

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

PAST CHIE EVENTS

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.

PARTNERSHIPS

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.

 

IMPLEMENTATION SCIENCE SEMINAR SERIES

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.

 

DESIGNING FOR IMPLEMENTATION & SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATE

Target Audience & Benefits

Walk away with key data to advance your projects.

For clinical, translational and public health researchers...

  • Workshop Your Innovations – Get expert mentorship to refine your ideas for maximum impact.
  • Gain Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives – Ensure broader adoption and sustainability of your research, and develop expertise in understanding local contexts.
  • Accelerate Translation of Your Ideas – Identify actionable strategies to improve your innovation’s impact and sustainability in real-world settings, generate preliminary data to use in grant applications, and plan for post-grant sustainment.
  • Build Your Career – develop in-demand practical expertise in dissemination, implementation and sustainability to bring to your research and collaborations.

For public health and healthcare professionals...

  • Discover Your Organizational Context – Understand the needs of key players in your organization to enhance adoption and sustainability of evidence-based practices.
  • Develop a Strategic Implementation Plan – Move beyond theory with a results-driven roadmap to help your organization effectively adopt high-value innovations.
  • Lead in Sustainable, Impactful Innovation – Ensure that your organization makes strategic, sustainable choices in implementing new practices and innovations.

Program Content

Engage in Three Sprints of 8 Weeks Each

A 12-month, flexible online learning with practical applications. Executive-style, interactive online sprints are tailored for busy professionals, with breaks in between.
A Translational Science Certificate in Designing for Implementation and Sustainability

Tailored, Mentored, Hands-on Learning & Mentorship

A high-value opportunity to advance your projects. 

Program Faculty

Elaine H. Morrato, DrPH MPH FISPE CPH, is professor and founding dean of the Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health at Loyola University Chicago. Trained in epidemiology and board-certified in public health, her work focuses on accelerating the translation of evidence into practice with a particular focus on drug safety. Dr. Morrato remains active in the NIH Clinical & Translational Sciences Award (CSTA) program where she directs Loyola’s collaboration with the University of Chicago-Rush University Institute for Translational Medicine. She contributed to the national expansion of the NIH Innovation-Corps (I-Corps™) training program for ensuring problem-solution fit and the scale-up and sustainability of academic innovation.

Headshot of Dean Morrato

Nallely Mora, MD MPH PMP, is an Associate Research Professor at Loyola University of Chicago in the Public Health Sciences Department. Her Public health practice-based research is focused on community-based participatory research and health equity, bringing implementation science and evaluation methods to design and adapt evidence-based interventions in diverse settings. She is the ITM CTSA, Loyola site Associate Director, where she co-directs its Community and Collaboration, and the Dissemination and Implementation science cores. Dr. Mora has participated and collaborated in the I-Corps™ training at Loyola University providing didactic resources and conducting the program evaluation.

Lindsay Lennox, MA, is an instructor at the University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine and teaches in its Dissemination & Implementation Science Graduate Certificate Program, as well as providing program management for the Colorado Clinical & Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) D&I Research Core. Their work focuses on bringing together approaches from technology transfer, dissemination/implementation science and the marketing and communications fields to effectively move evidence-based interventions into practice locally and nationally, and to create infrastructure for D&I and pragmatic research within the national clinical and translational science (CTS) ecosystem. They have expertise in community engagement, co-design, and designing for dissemination and sustainability, and have served as guest faculty for the I-Corps™ training program.

Lindsay Lennox smiling in front of a brick wall

Information Sessions

Contact Us

Questions?

Contact Nallely Mora, MD, MPH, PMP Research Associate Professor and Site Associate Director, Institute for Translational Medicine at namora@luc.edu.

Apply Now

Apply Now

Preference will be given to applicants who submit materials by July 1st.

Resources

Informed By:

  • Kwan, et al Annual Review in Public Health (2022), Concannon, et al in J General.
  • Internal Medicine, and Wasko, et al in Journal of Clinical and Translational Science (2024).
  • Osterwalder A, Pigneur Y, Bernarda G, Smith A. Value proposition design: how to create products and services customers want. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons; 2014.

Funded by NIH grant no. 2UL1TR002389.

CONNECT WITH US

Looking to learn more about partnership opportunities, joining an I-Corps@NCATS training or attend an upcoming event? Please contact Merly Thomas, CHIE Administrator.

2023 Loyola Chicago Health Equity Quest: Climate Change and Healthcare Delivery Summit

Improving public health through interdisciplinary research, partnerships and education at the intersection of health care, social justice and business.

The Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health created the Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CHIE) in 2020, as a central hub for scholars, community partners, thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and students to engage in purpose-driven research and education with the goal of reducing health inequities and improving health care delivery for all.

WHAT WE'RE ABOUT

OUR MISSION: To cultivate a community of health entrepreneurship and innovation comprised of faculty, students, community and business leaders with a unifying mission to reduce health inequities and improve population health - through interdisciplinary research, collaboration and strategic partnerships guided by our Jesuit values and Ignatian pedagogy.

OUR VISION: To make a transformational impact on public health and equitable healthcare delivery as the leading Jesuit Catholic center for Public Health Entrepreneurship and Innovation by piloting, sustaining and scaling novel and disruptive solutions to major health challenges.

OUR TEAM: Our team is built with industry leaders who are immersed in technology, innovation, and problem-solving to develop advancements in the areas of sustainability and health equity for public health solutions.

MICHAEL BLOOM, Phd., Founding Director, Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Associate Clinical Professor Meet the Director 

MERLY THOMAS, MBA, MPH, Administrator, Center for Health Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Bio)

WHAT WE DO

We catalyze innovation in teaching, research and service.

We create opportunities for Loyola faculty, students and staff to collaborate with community, industry and government on innovative health solutions.

We provide entrepreneurial training through I-Corps@NCATS (National Center for Advancing Translational Science) Program. 

We offer a wide range of programs including pitch competitions, seminars and summits such as the Loyola Chicago Health Equity Quest- offering opportunities for the Loyola community and our external partners to engage, connect and collaborate.

Please view the CHIE Annual Report  to read more about our 2022-2023 initiatives and programming. 

CONNECT WITH US

Looking to learn more about partnership opportunities, joining an I-Corps@NCATS training or attend an upcoming event? Please contact Merly Thomas, CHIE Administrator.