Stony Brook University has received an Empire State Development grant of up to $500,000 that will address the growing need for entrepreneurial talent in New York’s life science ecosystem. These entrepreneur development grants, first announced by Governor Cuomo in 2019, will help close the talent gap that had previously limited life science commercialization in the state and will develop entrepreneurs with the mix of skills and expertise needed to successfully guide innovative life science startups along the path to commercial viability.
Stony Brook’s College of Business will partner with the Center for Biotechnology and Department of Biomedical Engineering to create a 16-credit Life Sciences Innovations and Entrepreneurship Advanced Graduate Certificate for all life science graduate students within the university and region. Collaborations between the business school and life science graduate program are critical to equipping students with the skills needed to become leaders in New York’s growing life science ecosystem.
“Stony Brook is very excited to be developing this curriculum for graduate students in the biomedical sciences here on Long Island, and expect that it will fuel both technology development and company formation here in the region,” said College of Business Dean and Distinguished Professor Manuel London. “As a collaboration between the College of Business and the Center for Biotechnology, we are confident that an interdisciplinary program like this, enabled by Empire State Development Life Sciences, will help our outstanding graduate students of today become the innovators and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.”
The Life Science Entrepreneur Development Grant Program was created to promote a culture of entrepreneurship within life science-focused academia, as well as to encourage academic scientists to direct their research toward commercial applications. Life Science venture investment in New York in FY2020 reached $.73 for every dollar of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding received by New York’s life science research institutions, a major jump from $.13 for every NIH dollar in 2016. With an increase in life science investment of this magnitude, the need for entrepreneurial talent is more critical than ever.
“Empire State Development is strongly committed to building a robust life science industry in New York State,” said Empire State Development Acting Commissioner and President & CEO-designate Eric Gertler. “By developing the specialized entrepreneurial talent needed by life science companies right here in New York, we will be better equipped to advance the discovery research conducted at our world-class academic centers and retain that research in New York as it moves closer to commercialization.”
Add comment