Call for Proposals: Artificial Intelligence and Wellness

Overview

The Schwarzman College of Computing is pleased to announce a call for proposals for seed projects for early-stage research that explores AI and wellness, with a preference for AI-driven solutions that shape the future of wellness. Funding has been provided by Panasonic Well, a venture and business incubator within the global Panasonic Group, focusing on AI and family wellness.

Focus

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • AI-driven early disease prevention and prediction and personalized wellness recommendations based on lifestyle and genetic data.
  • Smart wearables that track vitals and predict health risks for conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and neurodegenerative disorders.
  • AI-powered family health monitoring: Smart home health assistants that track vitals, medication adherence, and early disease symptoms for all family members.
  • AI-driven assistants that help individuals with limited mobility navigate daily life, from reading assistance to mobility support.
  • AI-driven sleep analysis to track mental health and personalize care
  • AI for sleep and circadian health: AI systems that optimize sleep schedules for parents, children, and infants, using smart lighting, sound, and personalized routines.
  • Personalized digital companions for emotional support, therapy assistance, and mood tracking.
  • AI-driven stress detection in families: Wearable or home-based AI that identifies stress patterns in parents and children, suggesting interventions like mindfulness activities or family bonding exercises.
  • Smart social networks that encourage meaningful interactions and combat loneliness.
  • Personalized AI systems that optimize nutrition, exercise, and cognitive training to enhance quality of life for aging populations.
  • AI-assisted caregiving for aging parents: AI tools that help adult children monitor and support elderly parents remotely, integrating health data, reminders, and social engagement features.
  • Ensuring AI wellness tools are fair and accessible to diverse populations, including marginalized communities.
  • AI-driven approach to create more time for wellness and connection for busy modern people

Funding

Projects will be funded for one year starting on July 1, 2025 with possibility of renewal based on progress. We plan to select three to four proposals, with budgets not exceeding $200K. We expect awards to fund graduate students and some faculty time. Proposals with faculty from multiple disciplines are preferred, particularly working on computational, behavioral and social aspects. Projects are intended to provide demonstrations and build systems that can be useful for wellness and health. The seed funds are meant to kick-start new, exploratory research efforts.

Proposals

Proposals should be 2-3 pages in length, and RAS approval is not required.  The project description should include:

  • Heading: include a project title, names and DLCs of PIs;
  • Vision: your long-term vision of a research project that will enhance the future of wellness;
  • Plan: an outline of your initial plan, what you hope to achieve by the end of the seed funding period (2025-2026), and how you hope to use the results to engage in a deeper exploration;
  • Prior work: a brief overview of prior work, by yourself and others, and how this project will build on it;
  • Budget: Short Budget and justification (Budget Template available here).

Timeline

Submission and notification dates are as follows:

  • May 14: Proposals due
  • May 25: Notification to proposers
  • June 2: Final versions of accepted proposals due
  • July 1: Funding begins

Submissions

Proposals should be submitted online here. Please note you will need to log in via Touchstone authentication.

Details

Budgets should be prepared using these fund fee guidelines:MIT’s fund transaction fee is 10%. Please refer to this website for more details. Recipients will be asked to submit a brief report (4-5 pages) summarizing accomplishments at the end of the funding period (September 30, 2026) that will be shared in a stewardship report to the donor.

Questions

For more information, please contact Eileen Ng at <scc-finance@mit.edu>.