The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is holding the Mood Challenge for ResearchKit, calling upon researchers and technologists to submit proposals for ResearchKit studies that will further understanding of mood and how it relates to daily life.
The challenge is a New Venture Fund program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and powered by Luminary Labs, and will award $500,000 as well as provide finalists with expert mentorship and piloting opportunities. ResearchKit, an open source software framework designed by Apple, turns iPhone into a powerful tool for medical research by helping doctors, scientists and other researchers gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants anywhere in the world.
Entrants are encouraged to go beyond measuring the surface level of what we call emotion and mood to explore contextual factors and social determinants—such as weather, pollution, access to food, sleep and social connectedness—that relate to mood, according to the organization.
“We think platforms like ResearchKit have the potential to revolutionize how research is conducted, and we’re launching this competition to help explore that,” said RWJF President and CEO Risa-Lavizzo-Mourey. “We know that mood is one of the keys to health, but much more can be learned about the relationship between mood and the many social and economic factors that affect it, and our health. We’re thrilled to help advance research in this field that will help build a Culture of Health in America.”
Proposals for ResearchKit studies will be accepted through May 22. Five semi-finalists will receive $20,000 each and have the opportunity to develop their proposals into app designs during the Virtual Accelerator, which includes an in-person boot camp to help with the development of their designs. Following the Virtual Accelerator, two finalists will receive $100,000 and move ahead to the Finalist Incubation and Testing phase, during which teams will fully develop their designs into prototypes. Following testing, one winner will be chosen to receive $200,000 to continue development and, finally, submit to the App Store.
Learn more at www.moodchallenge.com.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.