About the MTRAC Program

MSU’s MTRAC AgBio Innovation Hub is designed to bridge the gap between successful academic research results and the point at which an innovation is sufficiently developed, scaled up, and de-risked to enable it to transition to commercial development.

The MSU MTRAC program focuses on agricultural and industrial biotechnology, biomaterials, bioprocessing, and related technologies that fall outside the domain of human medicine. This can include research in areas from animal and crop health to innovative machine learning and blockchain applications useful in agriculture and food production to novel food, fiber, and biomaterial processing. Recent examples of the areas of translational research have included funding in bio-based chemicals, biofuel synthesis, livestock health and nutrition, crop improvement, novel consumer food products, and agricultural production tools and methods.

The Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization for Life Sciences Innovation Hub is a statewide program supporting translational research projects in life sciences with high commercial potential, with the ultimate goal of positively impacting human health. Innovators from all schools at the University of Michigan, other institutions of higher education, non-profit research centers, and hospital systems across Michigan are eligible to submit projects for funding consideration.

The program offers early-stage funding opportunities through Kickstart and MTRAC, our funding program for mid-stage commercialization projects. The program has awarded millions of dollars in funding over the past four years.

The Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) for Advanced Transportation Innovation Hub is a statewide program supporting translational research projects with high commercial potential, with the ultimate goal of launching new technologies into the mobility and transportation sectors. Innovators from all public institutions of higher education, hospital systems and non-profit research centers in the state of Michigan are eligible to submit proposals for grant funding consideration.

MTRAC Advanced Transportation is industry agnostic and can apply to mobility and transportation technologies across air, sea, land, infrastructure and space. Funded projects must be related to and have an initial commercial application in transportation and/or mobility.

The Michigan Translational Research & Commercialization (MTRAC) program is sponsored by the 21st Century Jobs Fund through the Michigan Strategic Fund and administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to support collaborative translational research projects led by teams of researchers, and business advisors as needed. The mission of the MTRAC Innovation Hub at Michigan Tech is to advance materials-based technologies that address poorly met market needs into commercial development. Examples of desirable translational research goals and outcomes include achieving specific milestones on the path to commercializing systems, materials, processing technologies, or devices which serve a well-documented market need. Proposals may address demonstration projects, prototype development, or process scale up that is necessary to attract follow-on funding from third parties.