Careers and Education

UNeMed Map Visionary Highway

 

UNeMed engages several outreach programs for two key reasons. First, UNeMed takes seriously its part in the University’s overall educational mission and in providing any opportunity for growth and learning. Second, we strongly believe that fostering a culture of innovation at UNMC and UNO will help us succeed in our mission.

Some of UNeMed’s educational programs target everyone at the University of Nebraska with general information regarding tech transfer, innovation and research. But there are also more specific programs tailored to individuals who show interest in transferring technologies to the commercial sector.

Former UNeMed interns and licensing fellows have gone on to excel at organizations that span the full spectrum of the technology transfer realm, including Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, RTI International, Northshore Bio, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Streck, Allergan, LI-COR and Notre Dame University, to name a few. Several have been hired to full-time licensing positions at UNeMed.

Internships | Licensing Fellowship | Boot Camp

Internship Program

Cole Melton

Cole Melton
Licensing Intern

UNeMed periodically offers summer and semester internship opportunities for students interested in technology transfer and related fields. However, all positions are currently filled, and we are not seeking additional applications at this time.

Licensing & Marketing Internship
UNeMed’s licensing and marketing interns gain hands-on training, mentorship and all the tools needed to launch a successful career in the technology transfer or biotechnology industry.

All interns work closely with experienced UNeMed staff to help biomedical inventions developed at UNMC and UNO move beyond the laboratory and into the marketplace. UNeMed interns will gain valuable, first-hand experience in a wide range of interdisciplinary, technology transfer-related activities, including:

  • Invention evaluations
  • Patent and copyright law
  • Contract negotiation
  • Startup business formation
  • Technology marketing

The ideal candidate will:

  • Be actively working towards or hold an advanced degree in a scientific field
  • Have the ability to comprehend complicated scientific and technical information
  • Have excellent research, analytical and writing skills
  • Strong written and oral communication skills
  • Be an independent thinker who is self-motivated and can take initiative while still contributing to a dynamic, fast-paced team environment
  • Be able to work with the diverse range of personalities often found among elite academic researchers and biomedical industry executives
  • Have the ability work on several projects at one time

UNeMed interns will be expected to:

  • Help evaluate new invention submissions
  • Develop technical marketing summaries
  • Conduct market analysis research
  • Promote UNeMed and UNMC innovations to local, regional and national companies
  • Manage marketing campaigns
  • Identify potential licensees
  • Develop communication strategies to promote UNMC and UNO technologies

All UNeMed internships are renewable, six-month appointments that cannot exceed one year. Most interns in previous years have remained on staff for a full year, and several have gone on to full-time, licensing positions, including current members of the permanent staff. Interns are expected to work at least 15 hours per week, with a maximum of 40 hours per week.

Past & Present UNeMed Interns
Cole Melton, 2024-
Lisa Carlson, 2021
AJ Crawford, 2019-2021
Tyler Scherr, 2017-2018
Catherine Murari-Kanti, 2016-2017
Amanda Hawley, 2015
Shantanu S. Balkundi, 2014
Brooke Dillon, 2014-2016
Tyler Mueller, 2014-2015
Caronda Moore, 2013
Jeffrey W. Schmidt, 2013
Chase C. Webb, 2013
Dallin B. Call, 2012-2013
Agnes A. Constantino, 2012
Molly A. Miller, 2012-2013
Hiba Ahmad, 2011-2012
Edward W. Arvisais, 2011
Alexandra A. Buga, 2011
Jeffrey Dennis, 2011
William E. Diederich, 2011
Karla K.V. Haack, 2011
Erika LaPuente, 2011-2012
Qian Zhang, 2011-2012
Faisal K. Abou-Nasr, 2010-2012
Suman C. Barua, 2010
Daniel A. Belatti, 2010-2012
Brianna K. Brei, 2010
Anna M. Brynskikh, 2010-2013
Christine M. Gazaille, 2010-2011
Emeka Igbokwe, 2010-2011
Connor D. Mullen, 2010
Peter J. Power, 2010
Lingdong Quan, 2010-2011
James M. Stauch, 2010
Benjamin M. Wiese, 2010-2011
Trent L. Allen, 2009
Matthew B. Boehm, 2009
Christopher M. Connelly, 2009-2010
Benjamin A. Katt, 2009
Kulia Matsuo, 2009
Michael J. Peter, 2009
Thuy Tien T. Nguyen, 2009-2010
William Hadley, 2008-2010
Timothy J. Langdon, 2008
Melissa K. Redding, 2008
Julie R. Thiry, 2008-2010
Glenn Woster, 2008-2009
Russell J. Nelsen, 2007-2010
Zagit Gaymalov, 2007-2010


UNeMed Licensing Fellows Program

UNeMed periodically offers fellowship opportunities for qualified candidates interested in technology transfer. However, all positions are currently filled, and we are not seeking additional applications at this time.

UNeMed licensing fellows are full-time employees in renewable one-year appointments, not to exceed three years. They receive University of Nebraska benefits, and compensation is consistent with NIH standards.

Because most UNeMed licensing fellows are drawn from the internship program, they typically perform many of the same duties they learned and practiced as interns. Licensing fellows, however, are afforded far more freedom and independence to evaluate and build their own accounts while developing and implementing their own marketing campaigns. UNeMed’s fellowship program is also unique in that it affords the flexibility for licensing fellows to define their own roles to fit their unique strengths.

Licensing fellows since 2008
Tyler Scherr, PhD, 2018-2019
Catherine Murari-Kanti, PhD, 2017-2018
Amanda Hawley, PhD, 2015-2016
Caronda Moore, PhD, 2013-2016
Agnes Lenagh, PhD, 2012-2015
Qian Zhang, PhD, M.B.A., 2011-2014
William Hadley, J.D., 2011-2013
Matt Boehm, PhD, 2009-2010
Russell Nelsen, J.D., 2009-2010
Tara Scrogin, J.D., 2008

The minimally qualified licensing fellow candidate will have:

  • Completed a doctoral program
  • Prior experience in technology transfer industry, OR
  • Prior experience in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device or other relevant industry
  • Excellent oral and presentation skills
  • Excellent writing skills that can explain complicated information to a non-expert
  • Experience and knowledge about intellectual property rights
  • Experience and knowledge about market research
  • An expert ability to grasp complicated scientific inventions

A successful licensing fellowship candidate might overcome a lack in one of these qualifications if they have expertise in a field that could help UNeMed better fulfill its mission, such as graphic design, videography or web coding and design.

UNeMed Licensing Fellows will be expected to independently:

  • Evaluate new inventions and discoveries
  • Develop technical marketing summaries and market analysis
  • Promote UNMC and UNO innovations to domestic and international companies
  • Manage technical marketing campaigns
  • Develop legal assessments of intellectual property positions
  • Develop strategies to promote the licensing of new inventions



Tech Transfer Boot Camp

In response to increased interest in its internship program, UNeMed has developed an interactive training camp to help prepare participants for a career in technology transfer.

The UNeMed Tech Transfer Boot Camp is a short program that emphasizes technology commercialization in a university environment. The program is designed as a technology transfer short course that introduces participants to the process and tools required to assess the commercialization potential and develop a marketing strategy for university-based innovations.

Admission to the program is based on the strength of the application including: academic accomplishments, career interests, and enthusiasm for technology innovation and commercialization.

UNeMed’s 2024 Technology Transfer Boot Camp will be held 8 a.m.-noon on Aug. 19-23, 2024. The deadline expired on July 1, and we are no longer accepting applications.

Questions regarding the Boot Camp can be directed to Amanda Hawley, PhD.

Additional Information
OverviewStructureProgram GoalsScheduled ContentApplication
UNeMed has designed an interactive training camp to provide immediately usable instruction across a range of technology transfer relevant areas including: evaluation of invention disclosures, intellectual property law, technology marketing and commercialization, and contract negotiation.

Combining classroom instruction and interactive team-based activities, students will experience the multidisciplinary issues that are part of technology evaluation and commercialization. Students will develop an awareness of the innovation process as it relates to the scientific, legal and business activities needed to commercialize a new technology that resulted from academic research.

Rather than simply sitting through a series of lectures, course participants will explore case studies and experience hands-on practice by evaluating actual inventions, developing and implementing an applicable marketing strategy, and negotiating a mock licensing deal. Participants will complete a series of in-class activities including prior art searches and assembling marketing analyses and campaigns.

The UNeMed Boot Camp will provide participants with a good overview of the technology transfer process and the skills needed to succeed in this career path.

The format of this program will consist of biweekly two-hour lectures that presents the didactic material with experiential learning processes.

Instruction may include independent reading assignments, archived presentations, in-class discussions of the assigned material, small group discussions, case studies, writing assignments, worksheets, and other hands-on activities. Participants should bring a laptop, tablet or other internet-enabled device that will be used to complete in-class activities.

A commercialization plan, to be developed in class and due for completion near the end of the program, will emphasize the practical application of technology transfer processes to successfully license a university-based technology.

Program requirements will include the completion of written assignments and a commercialization plan, as well as attendance and class participation.

Completing the program constitutes completing all exercises, assignments and written commercialization plan, as well as attending all classes and contributing to class discussions. Failure to meet these expectations may result in corrective action, including dismissal from the program.

Exceptions will be considered (not necessarily granted) only in unusual circumstances and where participants either warn the program coordinator at least a week ahead of time of their inability to meet the due date, or can document illness. The participant is responsible (if allowed) for arranging to make up any time or assignments missed.

Program Goals – Upon the completion of the program, the participant will be able to:
(i) Discuss the life cycle of the commercialization process;
(ii) Appreciate and understand the steps a technology goes through to move from an idea to the marketplace;
(iii) Determine the practical applications of opportunity assessment, intellectual property law, market assessment, and contract negotiation in relation to the commercialization pathway of technologies;
(iv) Understand and perform an assessment of the scientific merit, intellectual property position and commercial potential of an invention;
(v) Demonstrate command of the knowledge and skills required to successfully license or develop startups from academic innovations according to the demands of university technology transfer; and
(vi) Create an original business strategy for the commercialization of university-based technologies.


DateTopics
Aug. 19♦ Intro to Boot Camp
♦ Tech Transfer Basics
♦ IP Primer
Aug. 20♦ Anatomy of an Invention
♦ Evaluating a Technology
♦ Prior Art Search
Aug. 21♦ Marketing Strategies & Analysis
♦ Creating a Campaign
♦ Communicating to Non-Experts
Aug. 22♦ Contract Negotiation
♦ Licensing Strategies
♦ Term Sheets
Aug. 23♦ Startups & Entrepreneurship
♦ Student Presentations
♦ Certificate Presentation


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