Investigator Initiated Research Program

Investigator Initiated Research Program is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. This program provides funding for doctoral-level research addressing health-related knowledge gaps, disease risks, healthcare costs, health equity, or the implementation and evaluation of innovative interventions.

Foundation Grants: Investigator Initiated Research | BCBSM Investigator Initiated Research Program The Investigator Initiated Research Award Program from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation supports doctoral-level researchers focused on: Addressing critical gaps in health-related research Examining factors that may prevent or reduce risk for disease Examining associations and cause and effect relationships between health variables Secondary data analysis of large datasets Healthcare cost-analysis studies Robust evaluation projects and feasibility studies to test the implementation of innovative interventions to improve health outcomes The award offers up to $75,000 per grant.

Typical grant awards are $50,000. We accept applications from primary investigators with medical or doctoral-level credentials, developing evidence-based research, and based in hospitals, universities and healthcare systems. Applicants must be based in Michigan and their organizations must be nonprofit.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan employees and their immediate family members are ineligible. Employees of any BCBSM affiliate and their immediate family members also are ineligible. Grant application process Thank you for your interest in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation’s grantmaking opportunities.

We are now accepting concept papers for our 2026 grant programs. Our new process will facilitate enhanced efficiency for both the applicants and BCBSM Foundation program officers. To request a concept paper application, please submit a concept paper form .

Grant application timelines All deadlines end at 11:59 p. m. Applications are reviewed up to the date indicated, which is when the board meets for discussion.

After the application is reviewed at our board meeting, applicants will receive an email with the funding decision within 10 business days. Applications Accepted Until Applications Accepted Until Applications Accepted Until The application process is comprehensive, so it helps to understand what's involved at the outset of applying.

Here is what you will be expected to deliver if your concept paper is approved and you move onto the proposal process.

Your proposal package narrative should range between 2,000-4,500 words and include the following sections: Research design and methods Addressing health equity and social determinants of health Addressing how the work is valuable to the population, increases the quality of care and improves the access to healthcare Please use AMA 10th Edition or APA 7th edition citation style. Citations do not count towards the recommended word count.

Other materials you'll be expected to deliver or review, sign and submit: Planned Participant Enrollment Table Detailed budget and budget justification documents, including: Funds requested, anticipated or provided by other sources for the same or similar project must be described in detail on an attached sheet and referenced in a cover letter.

The Foundation does not pay for indirect costs except for limited fringe benefits, including health, personal and/or medical benefits. The allowable fringe benefit expense may not exceed the lesser of 25 percent of the salary subtotal figure or the actual cost of the fringe benefits. The Foundation does not pay for tuition expenses or continuing education units for the PI, project staff, or students.

The following are not supported by this funding program: computer equipment, including hardware and software; one-time use consumables, such as medical and office supplies; furnishings; and capital expenses, such as phone, rent, building insurance. Conference travel is limited to $1,000.

Letters of support from collaborators Resume/CV of the Project Director(s) and other key personnel/staff Copy of most recent Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) tax determination letter If applicable, Letters from Co-funder(s) If applicable, figures and tables Michigan State University Ingham County, Mid-Michigan College of Social Science The Michigan Health Equity Assessment across Locales (HEAL) study will assess Michigan communities' health and healthcare needs by assessing health disparities in Michigan and associations with identity-based factors, while identifying multi-level risk and protective factors that may exacerbate or reduce risk for disease.

College of Human Medicine Mona Hannah, MD, MPH, FAAP The purpose of this proposal is to study how the Rx Kids program impacts financial stability, healthcare use and maternal and infant health in Detroit. This study will use data from the program, surveys from participants and birth records to understand both individual and city-wide impacts.

Michigan Technological University Houghton County, Upper Peninsula This study aims to explore how ingested micro- and nanoplastics, or MNPs, interact with the complex gut microbiome, the cells lining the digestive system, and transport through the digestive epithelial cells to determine how MNPs then accumulate in the bloodstream and other organs, causing adverse health effects.

Washtenaw County, Southeast Michigan This study will assess the diagnostic value of brain-injury biomarkers for evaluating TIA and minor stroke in the emergency department in patient populations 65 years and older. This project will develop artificial intelligence, or AI, tools to detect serious and costly systemic health conditions using routine eye exams.

In Michigan, diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease are common but often caught late, especially in rural communities. Wayne County, Mid-Michigan Department of Pharmacy Practice Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences Victoria Tutag Lehr, Pharm. D.

This study aims to characterize opioid overdose rates pre- and post-naloxone unit implementation in high-risk locations in Detroit-Wayne County to develop a model for sharing with other Michigan communities facing similar challenges.

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences The purpose of this study is to generate clinically actionable evidence on how adolescent trauma exposure and obesity interact to shape early cardiovascular risk among urban youth by examining arterial stiffness alongside dynamic blood pressure responses to stress.

Kent County; West Michigan School of Health, Public Health This study will explore how healthcare consumers and providers perceive medical mistrust and its implications for integrating artificial intelligence in healthcare. The goal of this proposal is to improve early detection of health effects from PFAS exposure and healthcare responses by providing direct services to affected individuals and increasing healthcare provider awareness.

Michigan State University Alger, Chippewa, Ingham, Luce, Mackinac, Schoolcraft Counties; Mid-Michigan, Upper Peninsula Department of Human Development and Family Studies This study will investigate maternal trauma and its impact on both childhood obesity and diabetes risk when children are three years old through compromised maternal health, and, in turn, obesogenic parenting.

Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology This project will advance the understanding of health outcomes in maternal health and healthcare among Medicaid-insured mothers with disabilities, including physical, intellectual and sensory, compared to Medicaid-insured mothers without disabilities.

This study will focus on the interplay between individual health-related social risks and neighborhood deprivation and evaluating tailored home visit service dosage on reducing severe maternal morbidity in Medicaid-eligible pregnant women. College of Human Medicine Mona Hanna, MD, MPH, FAAP Rx Kids provides financial support to expectant mothers and infants. A study will evaluate its impact on maternal wellbeing.

The program aims to improve health and economic security. Washtenaw County; Southeast Michigan Department of Obstetrics Gynecology Michelle Moniz, MD, MSc, FACOG This project aims to identify effective Quality Initiative strategies to reduce cesarean rates and create “precision QI interventions” for safe cesarean rate reduction.

Wayne County; Southeast Michigan This study aims to identify a potential early biomarker for language delays by examining whether placental efficiency, measured by the fetal-to-placental weight ratio, is associated with emergent language skills in toddlers born very preterm.

Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute for Child & Family Development Kathleen (Lucy) McGoron, PhD The Parenting Young Children Check-up (PYCC) is a tech-based program supporting parents. A clinical trial will evaluate its effectiveness in Detroit. The study aims to improve child behavior and parenting outcomes.

Michigan State University Ingham County; Mid-Michigan College of Communication Arts and Sciences Celeste Campos-Catillo, PhD The project is designed and develop a tool to increase the rates of screening for anxiety and depression among autistic adolescents.

Michigan State University Genesee County; Bay Area Michigan College of Human Medicine Support the expansion of the Supporting Parents and Raising Resilient Kids (SPARRK) study of the PlayReadVIP. Pine Rest Mental Health Services Kent County; West Michigan This study will develop a training for mental health clinicians who work with psychiatrically partially hospitalized adolescents because of online victimization.

Washtenaw County; Southeast Michigan School of Social Work and College of Medicine Lindsay Bornheimer, PhD, MSW Increasing crisis line usage for individuals with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Implementation of Collaborative Care Management to improve mental health outcomes in primary care. The purpose of this project is to perform a pilot feasibility and implementation trial on the Abdominal Hernia Questionnaire.

Wayne County; Southeast Michigan College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Michael Veve, PharmD, MPH The focus of this project is to improve the care of hospitalized people who inject drugs. Conduct a feasibility study of Authentic Identity Therapy for multiracial young adults with depression and/or anxiety. Central Michigan University Explore the perceptions of primary care physicians toward deprescribing among older adults.

Isabella County; Mid-Michigan Develop provider education to improve the care of transgender men undergoing a gender-affirming hysterectomy. Wayne; Southeast Michigan Anita Esquerra-Zwiers, PhD Implement and evaluate the My Mother’s Milk for Michigan Infants Lactation Coach program.

Ottawa, Calhoun; West Michigan Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Evaluating programs and services for Pregnant and Postpartum Women enrolled in residential Substance Use Disorders treatment with Flint Odyssey House. Ingham, Genessee, Saginaw, St. Clair; Mid-Michigan College of Human Medicine Evaluating cash allowances to address racial and socioeconomic disparities in maternal and child health outcomes.

Ingham, Genesse; Mid-Michigan College of Human Medicine Develop and evaluate a community-informed intervention to educate and encourage younger adults to engage in colorectal cancer prevention with R. L. Jones Community.

Outreach Center in Flint Ingham, Genesse; Mid-Michigan Measure, understand, and characterize why positive margins occur after colorectal cancer surgery. Washtenaw County; Southeast Michigan & Statewide Please check the FAQs in our help section. If you don't see what you're looking for, email us at foundation@bcbsm.

com and a member of our team will respond.