title: The Early Tech Development Course: Experiential Commercialization Education for the Medical Academician.
abstract: Research produced by medical academicians holds promise for developing into biomedical innovations in therapeutics, devices, diagnostics, and health care information technology; however, the road to biomedical innovation is fraught with risk, including the challenge of moving from basic research insight onto a viable commercialization path. Compounding this challenge is the growing demand on medical academicians to be more productive in their clinical, teaching, and research duties within a resource-constrained environment.
  
  
  
  In 2014, the University of Michigan (UM) Medical School and College of Engineering codesigned and implemented an accelerated, biomedical-focused version of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The UM Early Tech Development (ETD) Course, designed for medical academicians exploring the commercial potential of early-stage ideas, covers the NSF I-Corps concept; supports the formation of teams of faculty, graduate, and medical students; and accommodates medical academicians' schedules.
  
  
  
  From 2014 to 2015, the ETD Course graduated 39 project teams from UM and other institutions. One-third of the teams have continued to pursue their projects, receiving additional funding, engaging industry partners, or enrolling in the NSF I-Corps program.
  
  
  
  The ETD Course, a potential pipeline to the NSF I-Corps program, captures a target audience of medical academicians and others in academic medicine. To better understand the long-term effects of the course and its relationship to the NSF I-Corps program, the authors will conduct a study on the careers of all ETD Course graduates, including those who have enrolled in NSF I-Corps versus those who have not.
authors.affiliation: J. Servoss is commercialization education manager, Fast Forward Medical Innovation, Medical School Office of Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.C. Chang is managing director, Fast Forward Medical Innovation, Medical School Office of Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.J. Fay is managing director, Center for Entrepreneurship, College of Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.K. Ward is executive director, Fast Forward Medical Innovation, Medical School Office of Research, and professor of emergency medicine, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Servoss
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fay
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D062069:Inventions; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D012108:Research Personnel / Q000193:education*; D018581:Technology Transfer