Careers in Research Translation & Commercialization

Are you a postdoc or PhD student who wants to stay involved in academic research, but not necessarily as faculty or at the bench?

The Duke Office for Translation and Commercialization (OTC) evaluates new inventions from Duke innovators. It works closely with Duke faculty and trainees, industrial partners, and the venture community to transfer technologies from the lab to the market and ensure societal impact of Duke innovations. Graduates of the OTC Fellows Internship Program have landed jobs in life science consulting, business development, product management, and more.

Join our Zoom panel discussion to learn about this rewarding career path from current and former Duke PhD students and postdocs.

Speakers:

-Paul Cray PhD is an OTC Senior Fellow and Senior Lab Research Analyst in the Department of Surgery. Paul researches sterile inflammation and methods for mitigating inflammation in solid organ transplant in the lab of Dr. Justin Pollara. Drs Cray and Pollara developed a novel, non-viral gene therapy platform to treat genetic diseases that currently have no effective treatment or cure, and leveraged Duke and NC Biotech resources to help accelerate the promising technology.

-Daniel Luo PhD is Assistant Director for Duke Capital Partners, part of Duke OTC. As a postdoc, he worked with the Capital Partners team as an Associate and then Lead PhD Associate, where he learned about successful entrepreneurship, venture funding, and market research. Daniel was a postdoc in Duke Pharmacology and Cancer Biology department, and earned his PhD in Toxicology from Iowa State University.

-Shweta Krishnan PhD is Assistant Director for Life Sciences. As Assistant Director, Shweta works with the associate directors of licensing to evaluate the market opportunity, competitive and patent landscape of Duke technologies, develop online communications for marketing, identify potential licensees and assist with licensing negotiations and agreements. Shweta also manages the OTC Fellows internship program. Shweta received her PhD in Pharmacology and Cancer Biology from Duke University.