About the competition

Applications open through February 25

ADLM 2025 marks the 8th year of the Disruptive Technology Award Competition (DTAC). Review the information below and past competitions to see if your technology is a good fit. Contact [email protected] with any additional questions.

Learn how to submit an application

Key dates

Dates are subject to change.

• November 15, 2024: Application opens
• February 25, 2025: Application deadline
• April 15, 2025: Semifinalists announced
• Early May: Semifinalists present to committee
• May 29, 2025: Finalists announced
• June 2025: Finalist mentoring calls
• July 28, 2025: Finalists present at ADLM 2025; winner is selected and announced at the end of the session
• July 29-31, 2025: Finalists and semifinalists showcase their technology at the ADLM Clinical Lab Expo

Who should apply?

DTAC welcomes applications from companies that are in the early to late stages of developing new, disruptive diagnostic tools and/or technologies and have developed a clear vision of how they will position their product in the marketplace. Technologies entering the competition should be relatively unknown to the laboratory medicine community and be working to improve patient care through diagnostic performance or access to high quality testing. Applicants must be ready and willing to present data to support the viability of their technology.

Prior applicants are encouraged to reapply with the same technology, provided that the technology was not selected as a finalist and includes significant progress since the last application. The committee strongly recommends that prior applicants skip at least one annual competition to allow time to gather additional data. There is dedicated space in the application to highlight the changes since your last application.

Why should you apply?

Applicants for the competition help DTAC serve the laboratory medicine community’s need to learn about new technologies to improve patient care. In exchange, applicants have the opportunity to receive:

• Constructive feedback from DTAC faculty at all stages of the competition, with more provided in later stages
• Visibility and connections within laboratory medicine community
• Exposure to potential collaborators and investors
• Social media shoutout and showcasing the company on ADLM’s website (finalists and semifinalists)
• Kiosk space to showcase the technology at the ADLM annual meeting with up to 2 complimentary exhibitor badges (finalists and semifinalists)
• Opportunity to pitch live during the ADLM annual meeting (finalists)
• Cash prize to the DTAC winner

How are applications evaluated?

A team of experts in commercializing diagnostic tools and technologies will evaluate applicants on the three core components that make a technology disruptive: Innovation, Impact, and Commercialization. More details and specific factors used for each component can be found on the Application Evaluation page. Applications are evaluated in three phases:

• Faculty evaluate all written applications and select up to six semifinalists. All applicants receive summarized feedback when notified whether they advance to the next phase.
• Semifinalists pitch their technology to the committee. 3 finalists are chosen based on the pitch.
• Finalists present live at the ADLM annual meeting, and the winner is selected by a panel of expert judges that differs from the application reviewers. The three finalists meet with the committee in advance for 1-2 mentoring sessions on how to improve their pitch with the competition’s mission in mind.

What are tips for preparing a successful application?

Here are the top recommendations from the faculty to make your application stand out.

• Focus on establishing how your company and disruptive technology meet the competition’s core components and the corresponding factors for consideration.
• Specify the science behind your technology so that clinical laboratorians will understand why it will work.
• Include all relevant details in the body of the application that the faculty should know while evaluating your application against the core components. There is an opportunity to include visualizations of your technology and links to publications, but that information must be clearly referenced in the main application.
• Incorporate information about how you plan to commercialize your technology.
• Highlight prior recognition for the science behind your technology, including prominent peer-reviewed papers and awards.