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A simple starting point for high-impact ideas

Our Front Door is the easiest way to initiate a conversation about a research idea with the Department of Medicine. It’s designed to be lightweight and supportive—especially for ideas that are early, interdisciplinary, or hard to place within a single existing pathway.

The focus is practical: clarify the core aim, identify the right collaborators and mentors, and map a realistic set of next steps that moves the work forward.

What to expect when you submit your idea

Faculty can receive tailored guidance on:

  • Positioning and strategy (what’s the “big idea,” and what’s the most compelling path to impact?)
  • Potential collaborators across the department, school, and broader Stanford ecosystem
  • Mentorship and advisory connections
  • Internal opportunities that may fit the work (programs, pilots, platforms, shared resources)
  • Planning next milestones (data needs, team formation, proposal timing)
Big Ideas Faculty discussing research.
Let's get started

How it works

Apply. Pitch. Launch.

Open to all

Apply

Submit your idea through a short application. Every submission receives structured review and clear next steps.

All Stanford Department of Medicine faculty are eligible to apply. This includes faculty with a University Medical Line (UML), University Tenure Line (UTL), Research (NTL-Research), Clinician Educator (CE), Instructor or Clinical Instructor position. 

Applicants will receive written feedback from the Big Ideas team on a rolling basis—focused on strengths, gaps, and actionable next steps. In cases where the best next step is a large ($5M+) grant proposal, applicants may be immediately offered strategic proposal development and pre-award support from the Big Ideas team.

Preview Application Questions
By invitation

Pitch

Selected applicants are invited to pitch their idea to a panel of faculty experts on a quarterly basis. This stage is designed to sharpen the concept, clarify feasibility and impact, and strengthen the path forward.

Invited applicants receive verbal feedback from faculty experts following the pitch, with guidance that can help strengthen strategy, team, and next milestones.

Finalists

Launch

Ideas with especially strong potential are selected as finalists and receive targeted support to advance the work.

Finalist ideas receive targeted support to accelerate progress—tailored to what the project needs to move toward measurable impact. Support will include one or more of the following based on needs: identifying collaborators, statistical support from the Quantitative Sciences Unit, clinical research support from the Clinical Research Hub, strategic proposal development and pre-award support from the Big Ideas team, and/or mentorship from faculty experts.

Each Big Idea is evaluated using the same criteria

Unmet Need

Addresses a clear and important healthcare need.

Transformative

Has the potential to meaningfully advance the future of medicine.

Innovative

Introduces a novel approach to a major challenge, including longstanding problems that have resisted existing solutions.

Impactful

Demonstrates strong potential to improve patient outcomes and real-world care.

Room to Grow

Benefits from Department of Medicine partnership to launch or scale (e.g., mentorship, collaborators, infrastructure, or targeted support).

If your idea isn’t selected to pitch or launch

Not being selected is not a dead end. Use the feedback to refine your approach and submit again—each cycle is an opportunity to strengthen the idea and move it closer to readiness.

Frequently Asked Questions