The Fellowship

The Madrid-MIT M+Visión Consortium is a partnership of leaders in science, medicine, engineering, business, and the public sector dedicated to strengthening Madrid’s position as a global center of biomedical research by accelerating innovation in biomedical imaging, promoting translational research, and encouraging entrepreneurship.

The M+Visión Fellowship in Translational Biomedical Imaging is a central pillar of this effort. A cohort of ten Fellows, exceptional talent from all over the world—engineers, physicians, scientists, and entrepreneurs who see the promise of biomedical imaging—will engage in structured learning experiences for one summer in Madrid, followed by a few months in Boston developing a research direction. After this initial development period, Fellows will conduct research projects—up to two years total duration—with the potential for global effect, using their Consortium network of academic, medical, industry and public leaders as mentors and springboards.

M+Visión Fellowship structure

The Fellowship has four partially overlapping and interconnected components: After competitive selection, Fellows begin with an intensive startup phase, first in Madrid, then in Boston; enter IDEA³ a mentored proposal development process; and finally, spend full time on a research and/or development project, possibly on a team with other Fellows. Projects will be funded through a semi-competitive process for up to two-years. Ideally, projects will be defined such that they can enjoy dedicated mentors in both countries.

IDEA³ mentored proposal development

The multi-stage IDEA³ proposal development program promotes innovative, transformative, and translatable research by providing important (and unusual) professional training to M+Visión Fellows. This scalable and adaptable system exposes Fellows to a diverse community of professionals, far beyond the core of academic faculty. Written pre-proposals compete for "proposal catalyst" support, and then advance to compete for extended funding. Special preference will be given to projects that:

• Strengthen the Madrid–MIT collaboration
• Improve Madrid’s competitiveness in translational research
• Leveraging resource investments made in Madrid
• Involve other M+Visión Fellows
• That demonstrate potential for impact in biomedical imaging
• That hold the promise to advance human health

Team-run translational research projects

Teams of Fellows, each hosted by a lab in Boston and a lab in Madrid, carry out the research projects developed in the training and IDEA³ phases. Each project will involve facilities and researchers both in Madrid and Boston, and mentors within and outside the host labs. Projects could extend beyond the original team terms, building on foundational work in subsequent years.

Most important: After the M+Visión Fellowship

After their immersion in an environment promoting innovation and translation to practice, M+Visión Fellows will have new skills and perspectives in biomedical imaging, and strong relationships with academic and industry imaging leaders. They will be well positioned to continue their research in Madrid or elsewhere; start a new venture; attain a position in a university, medical, or research center; or join a pharmaceutical, imaging technology, biotech, or biomedical device firm. Ideally, each will be motivated to lead the development of biomedical imaging enterprises in Madrid.