The Physician Investigator Research Award Program, facilitated by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation, is designed to provide seed funding for Michigan physicians exploring innovative and evidence-based research ideas. The program focuses on urgent health issues, health inequities, social determinants of health, and improving health care access, quality, and cost through pilot studies, feasibility studies, or small research projects. With grants offering up to $10,000 in funding, this initiative aims to ignite research that addresses critical gaps in health-related research, examines factors reducing disease risk, explores associations and cause-and-effect relationships between health variables, and conducts secondary data analysis and health care cost-analysis studies.