CMI
Innovation Fellows Program
In This Section
The Innovation Fellows Program is an initiative of the Center for Medical Innovation at Penn State College of Medicine. The fellowship provides research trainees who have an interest in translation, commercialization and business disciplines an environment to further develop a new health care innovation to address an unmet medical need. CMI will provide funding to support salary coverage for postdocs or project funding for medical or graduate students to their principal investigator or faculty member’s department, allowing for dedicated time to learn and practice innovation and technology development activities.
As part of the fellowship program, participants will align with their principal investigator to further the technology’s development. The program will guide fellows through informative workshops, innovation staff coaching, industry mentorship and customer discovery through I-Corps training.
Topics include:
Intellectual property: patents, licensing and inventions
Customer discovery and reimbursements
Regulatory processes: wading through the FDA
Partnerships: contract research organizations and contract development and manufacturing organizations
Fundraising and private equity
Plus: pitch decks, presentation skills and more!
Funding for this program is provided by the Peter and Ann Tombros Endowment for the Penn State Center for Medical Innovation. This program is provided in partnership with the Office of Technology Management and Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
Innovation Fellows FAQ
Applications are accepted through InfoReady. Please include the following:
CV
Personal statement on why you are a good fit for the program (1-2 pages)
Letter of support from your supervising faculty member, including statement on the status of the technology that is part of their ongoing efforts
Ideal fellows will be graduate students, medical students, or post-doctoral fellows in a department with a principal investigator or faculty mentor who provides innovative projects and support during the program. Applicants are welcome from all Penn State colleges and campuses.
Innovation and commercialization activities help amplify the impact of discovery research, fosters collaboration, facilitates the exchange of knowledge and resources beyond academia, generates new revenue streams, creates new businesses, and enhances career and employment opportunities.
Funding to support dedicated time for innovation activities including attending conferences, prototyping, product optimization, and salary coverage where available.
Monthly workshops on a variety of technology development and commercialization topics
Monthly group meetings with the innovation team and other fellows
Team participation in I-Corps programming
Experienced industry mentor
Expand educational and career opportunities
Generate future leaders in life science translation and commercialization
Generate additional commercializable technologies at Penn State
Make a cultural impact on the College of Medicine