Proof of Product (POP) Grants

Proof of Product (POP) Grants is sponsored by UCI Beall Applied Innovation. POP Grants provide funds to assist in developing technologies with a focus on rapid assessment of commercial feasibility. These grants are awarded to Principal Investigators (P.

I. s) to further develop technology, making it more attractive to a startup or licensee.

POP Grants – UCI Beall Applied Innovation let menus = document. querySelectorAll('.

menu-item a'); let handleMenuItemClick = (e) => { isMenuOverlayOpen = false; Proof of Product: Calibrating and accelerating the pathway to market for promising UCI discoveries PoP Awardee: Makani Science Makani Science Has Created the Most Important Medical Device You’ll Never Notice class="btn btn-sm btn-dark-blue-white inline-block"> PoP Awardee: An AI That a Better Friend Bill Tomlinson’s AI doesn’t just chat.

It remembers, it cares, and it might just help us save ourselves.

Tibor Juhasz has been perfecting a laser treatment for glaucoma class="btn btn-sm btn-dark-blue-white inline-block"> PoP Awardee: Neocare Innovations NeoCare Innovations Technology Offers a Safer Start for Vulnerable Newborns class="btn btn-sm btn-blue-white text-gray-750 inline-block"> PoP Awardee: Perceptive Medical Perceptive Medical seeks to positively affect 250 million surgical procedures per year by automating drug delivery class="btn btn-sm btn-dark-blue-white inline-block"> Amplifica is developing novel treatments to address hair loss class="btn btn-sm btn-dark-blue-white inline-block"> Proof of Product (PoP) is designed to provide industry perspective and critical funding to promising research projects — validating and enhancing their appeal to industry and investors.

Researchers are awarded up to $100,000 in critical funding. Grants are utilized to perform activities that enable pivotal phases of development including customer discovery efforts, feasibility studies, prototype development and more.

Submit a Record of Invention (PoP requires that submissions have an active case number) Review the proposal template and prepare your content We encourage first time applicants to reach out to Matt Li, PoP Program Manager .

Fall 2026 Schedule (Active): September 18, 2026 Letters of Intent due October 16, 2026 Proposals due December 18, 2026 Awards announced January 1, 2027 Project start date June 30, 2027 Project end date July 31, 2027 Project final report due Researchers with questions, please see the FAQs or contact Matt Li, PoP Program Manager . Donors interested in funding PoP, please contact Grace Han, Director of Development , or click Donate below.

Download Last Proposal Template Requested Format for Submission Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) EHR AgentSwarm: Real-Time AI-Powered Operational Intelligence for Healthcare Radiacoustic Imaging (RAI) System for Precision Radiotherapy SmartPLFIA: Highly Sensitive Point-of-Care Lateral Flow Immunoassays Through Phage Probes and Smart Cameras The Henry Samueli School of Engineering A Real-Time System for ECG Synthesis from Everyday Videos Using Generative AI The Henry Samueli School of Engineering SHIELD-Lite: Cost-Efficient AI-Driven Threat Detection for Enterprise Security Operations Artificial Intelligence Track Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences ReadWithUs: Storytelling for All, With a Little Help from AI School of Population and Public Health AI Narratives for Health Behavior Change Advancing Scalable Recreation of NMC Cathodes for Circular and Secure Battery Supply Chain School of Physical Sciences Unlocking Light in Silicon: First Ultrabroadband Light-Emitting Diode Made From Silicon Samueli School of Engineering The OneSpec Vaginal Speculum to Improve Comfort and Visibility Validating an LNP-RNP Gene Editing Platform for Glaucoma Therapy Fast-acting Engineered Botulinum Neurotoxins for Treatment of Chronic Illnesses Electrochemical clearing of the cornea post-chemical injury Oncolytic virus armed with payloads that provide multiple mechanisms of action Samueli School of Engineering Bulk Processing of Biologically Sourced and Eco-friendly Carbon-Metal Nanocomposite Materials for Water Purification Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences The Daily Smirk: A Novel Self and Peer Assessment Tool for Improving Student Teamwork School of Physical Sciences Hollow core optical fiber bundle for high power laser delivery for geothermal Drilling Artificial Intelligence Track Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences An AI That’s a Better Friend Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences Physical Insecticides: Harnessing the Power of Plant Defenses for Trapping Pests Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences Accelerating Terabyte-Scale Analytics Queries School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Phenotypic DNA-Encoded Drug Discovery in Living Tissues Novel Combination of Biologics to Expand Regulatory T Cells for Multiple Sclerosis Artificial Intelligence Track Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences RAGMan: Aligned Conversational Assistants Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences StoryAI: An AI-based storytelling app for literacy development School of Physical Sciences Demonstration of a green H2 production reactor design projected to meet aggressive DOE cost targets School of Biological Sciences Generation of novel diazotrophic associative microbes for improved crop production Samueli School of Engineering High Power Density Electrochemical Energy Conversion Devices Samueli School of Engineering Sustainability toward The Future of Semiconductors School of Physical Sciences Coupling Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Capture and Concentration with HVAC Systems A single-use treatment for all kidney stones: Development of a disposable flexible aspiration ureteroscope with multiple laser working ports to allow for simultaneous laser lithotripsy, irrigation, and fragment aspiration Samueli School of Engineering Targeting the cell adhesions for highly-efficient generation of aneuploidy-free iPSCs Novel botulinum neurotoxins with high selectivity towards autonomic and sensory neurons Samueli School of Engineering A droplet based microfluidic platform (ADOPT) that enables three-dimensional isotropic imaging of live suspensions through droplet microvortices Novel Combination of Biologics for Multiple Sclerosis Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing ZotCare: A Flexible, Personalizable, and Affordable Mobile Health Service Provider Silicon-Based Electrospray Thruster System for SmallSats.

Beckman Laser Institute / School of Medicine Integrated Intelligent Intraoral Camera for Oral and Oropharyngeal Cancer Screening and Management to Achieve Early Detection and Better Outcomes. School of Social Sciences CARLSim: A Framework for Large-Scale Detailed Spiking Neural Network Development.

Papyrus AI: an intelligent Writing Coach for K-12 Schools School of Physical Sciences Toward commercialization of an ultrathin polymer electrolyte for high energy density, all-solid-state lithium batteries Henry Samueli School of Engineering Development of Nanoporous Graphitic Carbon-Metal Nanocomposite Materials for Water Purification School of Biological Sciences Single-cell spatial proteomics for Alzheimer’s therapeutics Henry Samueli School of Engineering An acoustic-dielectrophoretic transducer (ADEPT) platform for high throughput and precision cell sorting in cancer immunotherapy Use of systems pharmacology to prevent age-related macular degeneration A medical food that prevents the emergence of chronic pain after surgery School of Biological Sciences Bio-manufacture of face and neck cartilage from Human Pluripotent Cells School of Physical Sciences Sensors to detect biomarkers from exhaled breath School of Physical Sciences Doped Ultra-High-Nickel Layered Cathode for Advanced Lithium-Ion Batteries Henry Samueli School of Engineering Cloud-enabled Passive Wireless pH Monitoring in Small Vials Small Molecule Correctors for Mutants of the Tumor Suppressor School of Biological Sciences Patient-specific Cell Therapy for a Lethal Genetic Disease of the Brain’s White Matter Development of a Novel Modular Wireless Large Bore Vacuum Universal Endoscope a.

k. a.

Vacuumscope Claire Trevor School of the Arts CUBITS: The Commercialization of Marching Cubes Made Physical and Tangible Development of a Novel Liquid Embolic Material Used for the Treatment of Stroke Patients 2020 Spring – Anthem and Danaher Track Awardees Pedi-Sync: An Integrated Biomedical Platform with Clinical Algorithm for Determining Optimum Feeding Protocols for Preterm Infants Henry Samueli School of Engineering Novel Patches for Fetal and Maternal Monitoring in the Home Setting Henry Samueli School of Engineering Helix Cardia: A Minimally-Invasive Whole- A Novel Noninvasive Method to Assess Asthma Inhaler Compliance and Lung Function Through Aerosol Detection in the Exhaled Breath in Children and Adults DENERA: DEtrusor NErve Radiofrequency Ablation: Pre-clinical Study on Safety Henry Samueli School of Engineering Henry Samueli School of Engineering Culture-free Diagnostics for Antibiotic Stewardship School of Physical Sciences P(V) Reagents for the Scalable Synthesis of Natural and Modified Nucleoside Triphosphates School of Physical Sciences & School of Biological Sciences Benchmarking of a Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging Microscopy Device for Rapid Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing (FLIM-AST) of Clinical Samples Henry Samueli School of Engineering Product Market Fit of Flood Hazard Data in the Facilities Maintenance Industry Henry Samueli School of Engineering Physical Layer Key Generation Protocol for Secure V2X Communication Architecture in the Era of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Development of a Novel Pressure Sensing Device to Determine the Force Applied During Ureteral Access Sheath Deployment Henry Samueli School of Engineering A Particle-Sorting Device for the Separation, Isolation, and Enrichment of Particles at Ultra-Low Concentration Henry Samueli School of Engineering High-Efficiency Cell-Bead Encapsulation Platform for Droplet-based Genomic Screening Henry Samueli School of Engineering A Platform Technology for the Rapid Evolution of Therapeutic Antibodies Closed-Loop Vasopressor Infusions: Peripheral Connectivity Electrochemical lysis of FAT (ELF) Henry Samueli School of Engineering: Biomedical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering Feasibility Studies of a Bio-Inspired Transcatheter Atrioventricular (Mitral and Tricuspid) Valve Technology in Sheep Henry Samueli School of Engineering: Department of Biomedical Engineering ASPIRE: Asthma Sensing Predictive Intuitive Respiratory E-alert Monitor School of Medicine: Department of Otolaryngology Auditory Neural Prosthesis: the Next Generation Cochlear Implant School of Medicine: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology Developing a Treatment to Improve Survival in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Henry Samueli School of Engineering: Biomedical Engineering; Beckman Laser Institute Laser Scanning Multiphoton Microscope (MPM) for in vivo Clinical Skin Imaging School of Medicine: Department of Otolaryngology Clinical Investigation of a New Direct Drive Micro Hearing Aid: A Clinical Trial Henry Samueli School of Engineering: Department of Biomedical Engineering An Imaging Device to Assess the Developmental Potential of Pre-implantation Embryos UCI School of Biological Sciences: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Physical Insecticides: Entrapment of Bed Bugs School of Medicine: Department of Physiology & Biophysics Novel Anti-cancer Biologics Targeting Wnt Signaling Pathway UCI School of Biological Sciences: Department of Development and Cell Biology Stimulation of Hair Growth by Senescent Cell-Derived Factors Henry Samueli School of Engineering: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Rapid Diagnosis of Ocular Infections at Point-of-Care – Validation of Handheld ChAmpionSeq PCR Technology Associate Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Title: C3a neutralization to target cancer stem cells and glioblastoma An approach using C3a neutralizing antibodies for glioblastoma treatment Professor & Chair, Molecular Biology and Biochemistry School of Biological Sciences Title: A vascularized tissue platform for personalized anti-cancer drug screening Commercial development of a vascularized tissue platform for drug screening Professor for the Henry Samuel School of Engineering and the School of Medicine Title: Two-photon, non-linear corneal cross-linking for treatment of low refractive errors Development of a device based off optical photodynamic therapy for vision correction applications Chancellor’s Professor for the Henry Samueli School of Engineering; Joint Appointee for Chancellor’s Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering and Chemical Sciences Title: (Hummingbird) Rapid uropathogens identification and antibiotic susceptibility test for point of care applications A cell phone and tablet compatible point-of-care system for bacterial and antibody detection Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Title: AntMonitor for mobile data transparency and privacy A software tool to intercept network traffic in and out of a mobile device Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Joint Appointee Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering Title: Digital detection of pathogens in unprocessed blood using one-step blood droplet PCR Prototype development of a one-step droplet device for amplification of nucleic acids Professor of cognitive sciences Technology: an interactive robotic device used as therapy for children with developmental disorders Nicolaos G.

and Sue Curtis Alexopoulos Presidential Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The Henry Samueli Endowed Chair, Professor of electrical engineering & computer science, Professor of biomedical engineering, Professor of chemical engineering and material science Technology: a smartphone-controlled rapid DNA test Associate professor of developmental & cell biology Technology: anti-cancer therapeutics Associate professor of biomedical engineering, Associate professor of Surgery, Associate Professor of Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, Associate Professor of the Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology, Associate Professor of chemical engineering and materials sciences Technology: an integrated diagnostic device for acute middle-ear infection and a continuous analyte sensor device to improve healthcare (two projects funded) Associate professor of dermatology, Joint appointee biological chemistry Technology: small-molecule drugs to inhibit growth of early-stage melanomas.

Distinguished professor of chemistry Technology: a therapeutic bandage for treating venom-induced tissue necrosis. What stage of projects should apply?

While there is no hard and fast rule on the maturity of the project, the ideal PoP application has a solid technology foundation, has a good idea of what target customers and needs they will help fulfill, and understand the next step in proving their technology can better meet those needs. How many projects are funded?

The number of proposals funded each Round depends on the quantity and quality of proposal submitted, but we anticipate from 4 to 8 per Round. How much funding does an awarded project receive? Funded projects can receive up to $100,000.

The exact amount will vary by proposal and awarded projects are not guaranteed the full funding requested. Final decision on amount of funding per proposal will be made by UCI Beall Applied Innovation with input from external Reviewers with domain expertise. What are appropriate use of PoP funds?

PoP funds can be used for animal testing and services, subcontracted studies (including animal research facilities), reagents, tools, and personnel cost that serve the aims and objectives of the project. Funds cannot be used for personal computers, faculty or administrative salaries, and patent costs.

Budgeting for equipment is generally discouraged unless the equipment is essential to the development of the project and not available elsewhere at UCI. What’s the expected outcome of a PoP-funded project (short-term and long-term)? The short-term expectation is for the project team to achieve the aims and objectives and provide a report of accomplishments laid out in their proposal during the 6 month performance period.

Teams should have a much better understanding of the commercial value of the technology after completion of the PoP project. As for long-term expectations, see “What comes after PoP? ” Can I apply for PoP multiple times?

Can I submit multiple proposals per round? Yes, you can apply for PoP multiple times (especially if it’s associated with different UCI case numbers). Yes, you can submit multiple proposals per round if they are associated with different UCI case numbers.

If you’ve completed BAI’s regional I-Corps program, we encourage teams to pursue National I-Corps. If your PoP-funded project is successful, you could work with BAI’s Research Translation Group (RTG) to patent your invention. From there, you could either license it to an existing company or start your own, with support from BAI’s New Venture Group (NVG).

NVG can also help you apply for SBIR/STTR grants and seek funding from investors. What is the purpose of PoP? To provide faculty researchers with industry insights and validation of product/market fit through expert understanding of unmet market needs so researchers can accelerate the commercialization of their technology.

What stage, generally, are PoP projects? Technologically mature but still commercially early. Generally, projects looking to derisk the next relevant commercial milestone (including R&D work) but the feasibility of the underlying technology has already been demonstrated in a university research lab What’s the expected outcome of a PoP-funded project (short-term and long-term)?

Short-term expectation is to bring the technology and/or product closer to market by addressing an immediate commercial concern. Long-term expectation is for PoP to accelerate the time to market for promising technologies that might otherwise languish due to lack of resources. PoP funds are used by the research lab to enable additional development work that can help address concerns for future investors.

This might include, but are not limited to, showing basic product capabilities, developing a prototype device/product, or demonstrating manufacturing scalability. Can I offer my paid services? Not as a part of the review.

Keep in mind that reviews are provided on a single-blinded basis so the proposal author(s) are not aware of the reviewer’s identity. Should there be a fruitful collaboration opportunity, both parties may agree to un-blind to pursue the partnership.

If a business relationship is initiated between a Reviewer and an Applicant, UCI BAI requests the Reviewer notify the PoP Grants Program Manager immediately to ensure all parties avoid conflicts-of-interest.