Accelerating Biomedical Innovation in Academia: Leveraging Academic Discoveries to Meet the Needs of Both Faculty and Students

Katherine E. Reuther; Andrea Nye; Lorna Helen Begg; John D. O'Neill; Ahmet-Hamdi Cavusoglu

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Conference: 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Publication Date: June 24, 2017
Start Date: June 24, 2017
End Date: June 28, 2017
Conference Session: Clinical, Patient, and Innovation Experiences in BME
Tagged Division: Biomedical
Page Count: 18
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--27531
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/27531
Download Count: 817

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Paper Authors

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Katherine E. Reuther Columbia University

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Katherine E. Reuther, Ph.D., is the Director of Master's Studies and a Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University and the Co-Director of the Columbia-Coulter Translational Research Partnership. She is is working on developing new instructional tools and programs to enhance graduate education in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. She has spearheaded the development of a graduate-level Biomedical Design program that covers all aspects of the design process, including needs identification, concept generation, and commercialization. Dr. Reuther received her BS in Biomedical Engineering from The College of New Jersey and her Ph.D. in Bioengineering, specializing in Orthopaedic Biomechanics, from the University of Pennsylvania.

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Andrea Nye Columbia University

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Andrea Nye, MBA, MPH, is Director of Biomedical Innovation Initiatives in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Columbia University, as well as Director of the Columbia-Coulter Translational Research Partnership, a biomedical technology accelerator formed through a unique collaboration between Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Columbia University Medical Center, and Columbia Technology Ventures that facilitates commercialization of clinical solutions driven by teams of engineers, clinicians, scientists, students and others, with the end goal of moving promising biomedical technologies to clinical application and market-based healthcare solutions.

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Lorna Helen Begg Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

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Ms. Lorna Begg is a MPH student at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. She works part-time as a Project Coordinator at the Columbia-Coulter Translational Research Partnership.

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John D. O'Neill Columbia University, Department of Biomedical Engineering

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Ahmet-Hamdi Cavusoglu Columbia University

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Ahmet-Hamdi Cavusoglu is a Chemical Engineering PhD candidate with his research focusing on the intersection of biology, energy, and the environment. Currently, Hamdi focuses on theoretical and experimental approaches to modeling and manufacturing hygroscopic actuators for energy and robotic applications. Concurrently, he is a Senior Fellow at Columbia Technology Ventures.

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Abstract

Introduction. Faculty and students have unique educational and professional needs and priorities. Faculty traditionally focus their efforts on research, service, and teaching on the path toward promotion and tenure, with less emphasis placed on translating findings outside of the lab. Alternatively, graduate students seeking careers in industry or as entrepreneurs have a keen interest in innovation and commercialization and hope to develop skills in this area. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to address the opportunities and challenges of commercialization and entrepreneurship while also meeting the demands of academia. Our objective was to develop a course to meet the unique needs of both groups by providing students with real-world experience in technology commercialization while at the same time providing Faculty with structured support to bring their discoveries and innovations to patients. Approach. In collaboration with REMOVED, we created a semester-long course, “Lab-to-Market: Accelerating Biomedical Innovation” aimed at providing interdisciplinary teams with an introduction to the specialized frameworks and essential tools necessary for biomedical technology commercialization. Graduate students from the School of Engineering and Business School were embedded on project teams comprised of clinical and engineering Faculty and post-docs and centered on existing University technologies. The two major learning objectives were 1) to succinctly describe the unmet clinical need, stakeholder requirements, and business opportunities and risks for their technology and 2) to package and pitch the idea to best position it for partnership and follow-on investment. Each course session included a lecture and team presentations, and featured practical exercises and group feedback supplemented with content on topics applicable to accelerating commercialization success. Project teams worked systematically through the iterations necessary to create a plan for market readiness, while being supported by a peer learning environment and a coaching network of functional and domain experts. Seasoned industry executives and serial entrepreneurs provided advice, feedback, and guidance on the issues faced in developing a path to commercializing, and assessment of learning outcomes, course dynamics, and effectiveness was achieved through pre- and post-course evaluations. Results. Pre- and post-course survey results reflected substantial increases in knowledge in all areas of product commercialization. Both faculty and students also reported a marked improvement in their ability to pitch their technology to potential investors and stakeholders. Faculty reported that student support on their project teams was a critical driver toward their ability to move the project forward while juggling multiple other demands of academia, and students reported that the course provided them with a real-world experience in technology commercialization and in some cases influenced their career path. Finally, the technology transfer office reported that teams who went through the course were better at communicating the value of their technologies to potential licensees and strategic partners, thus increasing the likelihood that technologies would exit the university and get closer to helping patients. Conclusions: This course successfully met the needs of both students and Faculty by providing students with an immersive real-world training in technology commercialization, while also providing Faculty with additional support on translating their academic discoveries. While at times logistically challenging, the multi-disciplinary approach improved participants’ experience immensely and increased overall satisfaction with the course.

Citation
Format

Reuther, K. E., & Nye, A., & Begg, L. H., & O'Neill, J. D., & Cavusoglu, A. (2017, June), Accelerating Biomedical Innovation in Academia: Leveraging Academic Discoveries to Meet the Needs of Both Faculty and Students Paper presented at 2017 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Columbus, Ohio. 10.18260/1-2--27531

TY - CPAPER
AB - Introduction. Faculty and students have unique educational and professional needs and priorities. Faculty traditionally focus their efforts on research, service, and teaching on the path toward promotion and tenure, with less emphasis placed on translating findings outside of the lab. Alternatively, graduate students seeking careers in industry or as entrepreneurs have a keen interest in innovation and commercialization and hope to develop skills in this area. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to address the opportunities and challenges of commercialization and entrepreneurship while also meeting the demands of academia. Our objective was to develop a course to meet the unique needs of both groups by providing students with real-world experience in technology commercialization while at the same time providing Faculty with structured support to bring their discoveries and innovations to patients.
Approach. In collaboration with REMOVED, we created a semester-long course, “Lab-to-Market: Accelerating Biomedical Innovation” aimed at providing interdisciplinary teams with an introduction to the specialized frameworks and essential tools necessary for biomedical technology commercialization. Graduate students from the School of Engineering and Business School were embedded on project teams comprised of clinical and engineering Faculty and post-docs and centered on existing University technologies. The two major learning objectives were 1) to succinctly describe the unmet clinical need, stakeholder requirements, and business opportunities and risks for their technology and 2) to package and pitch the idea to best position it for partnership and follow-on investment. Each course session included a lecture and team presentations, and featured practical exercises and group feedback supplemented with content on topics applicable to accelerating commercialization success. Project teams worked systematically through the iterations necessary to create a plan for market readiness, while being supported by a peer learning environment and a coaching network of functional and domain experts. Seasoned industry executives and serial entrepreneurs provided advice, feedback, and guidance on the issues faced in developing a path to commercializing, and assessment of learning outcomes, course dynamics, and effectiveness was achieved through pre- and post-course evaluations.
Results. Pre- and post-course survey results reflected substantial increases in knowledge in all areas of product commercialization. Both faculty and students also reported a marked improvement in their ability to pitch their technology to potential investors and stakeholders. Faculty reported that student support on their project teams was a critical driver toward their ability to move the project forward while juggling multiple other demands of academia, and students reported that the course provided them with a real-world experience in technology commercialization and in some cases influenced their career path. Finally, the technology transfer office reported that teams who went through the course were better at communicating the value of their technologies to potential licensees and strategic partners, thus increasing the likelihood that technologies would exit the university and get closer to helping patients.
Conclusions: This course successfully met the needs of both students and Faculty by providing students with an immersive real-world training in technology commercialization, while also providing Faculty with additional support on translating their academic discoveries. While at times logistically challenging, the multi-disciplinary approach improved participants’ experience immensely and increased overall satisfaction with the course.

AU - Katherine E. Reuther
AU - Andrea Nye
AU - Lorna Helen Begg
AU - John D. O'Neill
AU - Ahmet-Hamdi Cavusoglu
CY - Columbus, Ohio
DA - 2017/06/24
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Accelerating Biomedical Innovation in Academia: Leveraging Academic Discoveries to Meet the Needs of Both Faculty and Students
UR - https://peer.asee.org/27531
DO - 10.18260/1-2--27531
ER -