2026 Application for Innovations Pitch Competition
The Innovations Pitch Competition is returning to the 2026 ASTMH Annual Meeting!
The 2026 Innovation Pitch Competition Chair, Dr. Ezekiel Boro, and the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine Enterprise and Innovation team invite you to join the competition.
Competition Overview
The ASTMH Innovations Pitch Competition focuses on bright ideas for developing better healthcare interventions for diseases endemic in low-resource settings. Five finalists are selected to pitch their innovation in a 5-10 minute TED Talk-style presentation at the Annual Meeting. This is a dynamic session that elevates and spotlights the need for innovation in tropical medicine/global health solutions on a global stage.
This year’s competition will focus on innovations designed and centered on impacted patients/communities.
• Individuals or teams are eligible to apply.
• Individuals or teams that applied previously are eligible to apply again.
• Precedence will be given to teams that include a low and low-to middle income countries (LMIC) team member but at a minimum, demonstrate collaboration with LMIC investigators or are applicable to LMIC settings.
• $2,500 US in project support funding will be awarded to the top finalist and mentorship support offered to all finalists.
Each application will be reviewed by three members of a panel of volunteer ASTMH members and partners who have expertise in tropical medicine/global health, public health and product development. Five finalists will be selected to advance to the final competition, taking place live at the ASTMH annual meeting.
At the live final Innovations Pitch Competition, each finalist will give a 5-10 minute TED Talk-style presentation, followed by 5-10 minutes of questions. Props are encouraged. Finalists may use a single PowerPoint slide that has up to three transitions, if desired. A panel of distinguished judges will ask questions of the finalists and score each finalist using a rubric that includes innovation, impact, approach and ability to be deployed.
Description
The innovations proposed should consider patient or impacted community-centered design, be marketable, scalable and rooted in scientific rigor. Innovations may address, but are not limited to:
• Solutions for increasing participation of key populations and communities in the R&D and delivery of health technologies such as vaccines, diagnostics, therapies, vector control products and other technologies.
• Delivering better risk decision tools for measuring and predicting global health action.
• Science hesitancy and societal benefits of sound medical countermeasures.
• Products and tools addressing community health impacts related to climate change and harmful environmental footprints.
Applications are due by September 25, 2026 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
Requirements:
• The 2026 Innovations Pitch Competition is open to registered ASTMH Annual Meeting attendees. (It is your responsibility to obtain a visa to travel to the United States, if necessary.) If you are selected for the final presentation round at the Annual Meeting, it is expected that you will present in person.
• It is your responsibility to check with your respective organization that you are eligible to receive project support funds.
• It is your responsibility to protect your intellectual property. We recommend consulting with your organization's legal department regarding the presentation of your intellectual property, as well as implications for any potential or actual patents related to your innovative idea.