Johns Hopkins University (JHU) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) have teamed up to train postdoctoral research fellows from the National Institute of Health (NIH) and other federal labs in the region on starting technology-based companies.
The joint project, a result of a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Partnerships for Innovation program, will establish an ACTiVATE at NIH program in Montgomery County. It builds on a successful ACTiVATE program at UMBC that trains mid-career women to start companies using technologies developed at area universities and research institutions.
"We are pleased to expand the ACTiVATE® model to Montgomery County and to offer the program to the talented group of scientists working as postdocs at NIH and other federal labs in the region. In the course of four years, the program at UMBC has trained 92 women and launched over 25 companies; we hope to bring that same success to this new venture," says Stephen Auvil, assistant vice president for research at UMBC and a co-principal investigator on the NSF award
Intended to stem the flow of highly skilled, postdoctoral fellows at NIH who leave the state each year, the new program will provide postdocs with the training and support needed to start new companies in Maryland or pursue an entrepreneurial career.
Offering postdocs the opportunity to develop new skills that transform research into viable businesses will lead to rewarding career paths and contribute to the growth of Maryland's life sciences industry, and also advance medical science by moving emerging technologies from the lab to the marketplace.
The program will recruit postdoc fellows and members of the business community to form interdisciplinary teams and pursue opportunities for startup companies. The JHU Carey Business School will receive funding under the award to offer ACTiVATE at NIH at their Shady Grove campus in Rockville.
Writer: Walaika Haskins
Source: Stephen Auvil, UMBC