Steve Fening, PhD, Associate Vice President for Research
Wesley Chen, Program Operations Manager
A lack of adequate understanding of the requirements for commercialization and funding create major impediments to translation of bench research to the bedside. In support of CTSC efforts on innovation and education, the CTSC participates as an NCATS I-Corps Hub for drug development that includes CTSC partners across Cleveland and Ohio. The CWRU i-Corps@NCATS program provides biomedical scientists and clinicians with the tools to accelerate translation of discoveries from the lab to clinical practice. The curriculum provides a real-world, hands-on, immersive learning experience, and supports members’ efforts to transform technologies and discoveries into successful products and services. This program coordinates with other skills programs through the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
CWRU Venture Mentoring Program
The CVMP provides CWRU biomedical researchers with unbiased, confidential team mentoring in order to develop, inspire and empower their pursuit of commercial opportunities in the biomedical space. Our mentoring program originated from the successful MIT Venture Mentor Service, with customizations to fit the needs of the researchers here at CWRU. Team mentoring offers a wide range of expertise and advice from a pool of local industry experts, providing a wide range of experiences and disciplines essential to product development and commercialization. Mentors are volunteers drawn from local businesses all over the Greater Cleveland area including lawyers, consultants, translational officers, CEOs/CSOs, company founders and venture capitalists.
Eligible entrepreneurs include post-docs, graduate students, staff scientists, and junior faculty drawn from CWRU translational research programs in health, medicine and biotechnology across campus and affiliate hospitals. Currently we are in our second year of the program and excited to add entrepreneurs and mentors to our successfully growing program.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor or entrepreneur or know of someone that might be interested, please contact us at cvmp@case.edu.