Collision Incubator

May 25th 2021 12-1pm


CMDC and SPARC Collision Incubator

Medical Device Cybersecurity Funding Opportunities

Medical device cybersecurity has become increasingly important to medical device manufacturers and healthcare delivery organizations, as well as US federal agencies. In response to this growing need, the new industry consortium, the Center for Medical Device Cybersecurity (CMDC), seeks to facilitate collaboration and opportunity across the University of Minnesota. Several organizations and federal agencies are calling for proposals to improve medical device cybersecurity, or cybersecurity with applications for the medical device industry. University of Minnesota researchers are well-positioned to respond to these calls by partnering with each other and industry, facilitated by CMDC. The CMDC will host a Zoom Collision Incubator Event on Tuesday, May 25 from 12-1:00pm to highlight the following opportunities, with special emphasis on Cisco and Sandia.

  • Cisco Cybersecurity in Emerging Tech Areas. Cisco is seeking proposals to conduct new research on cybersecurity in the arenas of healthcare, IOT, manufacturing. Of particular interest is supporting healthcare privacy and security, securing hybrid environments, and security in the manufacturing sector. The University Corporate Engagement Team is facilitating the collection of calls to bring directly to Cisco’s Head of Research for Emerging Technology and Incubation.

  • Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia National Laboratories is looking to partner with UMN faculty and researchers to submit internal proposals. If you’re interested in this possibility, we can share contact information with Sandia representatives.

  • Food and Drug Administration BAA.The FDA BAA invites projects, among other areas of interest, that “Facilitate Development of Medical Countermeasures to Protect Against Threats to U.S. and Global Health and Security.” Cybersecurity has been in the call for several years previously, but no projects on the topic were funded in 2018 or 2019.

  • Cyber-Physical Systems (National Science Foundation with National Institutes of Health). NSF defines cyber-physical systems as “engineered systems that are built from, and depend upon, the seamless integration of computation and physical components.” They are accepting small, medium, and frontier proposals through December 2021.

  • NSF IUCRC (Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers)

  • NSF Cybersecurity funding opportunities: Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace; Cyberinfrastructure Centers of Excellence; Energy, Power, Control, and Networks

At this Collision Incubator we will review the requirements of these opportunities and strategies for crafting successful proposals. Attendees will have the opportunity to brainstorm ideas and seek potential partners for interdisciplinary teams.


Future SPARC Events

The Strategic Partnerships and Research Collaborative plans to host several Collision events like this over the next several months.

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Future CMDC Events

For more information regarding opportunities related to the CMDC:

Please visit their website and sign up for their newsletter.




Contact SPARC at sparc@umn.edu if you have any questions.