A New Paradigm for Entrepreneurial Discovery and Business Development

University Of Louisville Research Foundation Inc, Louisville KY

Investigators

Abstract

0438604 Keyton This award is University of Louisville to support the activity described below for 36 months. The proposal was submitted in response to the Partnerships for Innovation Program Solicitation (NSF-04556). Partners The partners include University of Louisville (Lead Institution), the Jewish Hospital, Kentucky Office for the New Economy, and MetaCyte Business Lab. The primary objective is to establish a sustainable program for the discovery and commercialization of cardiovascular (CV) devices to help improve quality of life for patients and to stimulate regional economic development. The program will be developed with the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute (CII) in Louisville as a new paradigm for entrepreneurial discovery and development of emerging technologies at the University of Louisville and other Kentucky universities. In addition to the Innovation Training Program, CII researchers and PhD students will be eligible for Innovation Discovery Grants to develop proof of concept and prototypes for promising cardiovascular product ideas. These grants will be administered by an Innovation Advisory Board on scientific and entrepreneurial merit. To further commercialize good ideas, the Business Development Network, coordinated by MetaCyte Business Lab, LLC, will provide the infrastructure for market feasibility, business planning, capital formation, start-ups, and incubator services. The Innovation Discovery and Business Development will be funded with private funds. Potential Economic Impact The program will produce advances in health care, but they will also, through introducing science oriented professionals to entrepreneurial techniques, create jobs and wealth. The intellectual merit of the project is the development of a new paradigm for creating and establishing successful entrepreneurial ventures in emerging technologies. The intellectual basis for the proposed program is a model for entrepreneurial discovery and exploitation derived from a series of research projects at the U of L School of Business and Public Administration, including a study of repeat-entrepreneurs and a retrospective evaluation of business plans. The proposed program is an experiment to see if the search model can improve the odds of aspiring entrepreneurs to develop successful business ventures in the growing cardiovascular device industry. The broader impacts of the activity concentrate on regional economic development, healthcare improvement, and entrepreneurial training targeted at the talent of the future: PhD students in biomedical science and engineering targeted specifically at cardiovascular devices. It will draw more students into science and engineering fields who may also have business interests, and in providing the tools to those who have enter the biotechnology field to fully exploit the value of their research. The target population of this proposal is the PhD candidates in biomedical engineering, of whom about half are women and minorities.