Bridge Program 2019 participants announced
Congratulations to Dr Tracey Gaspari and Dr Melanie Hutton on their acceptance into the 2019 Bridge Program.
Launching this month, 100 participants have been selected from across Australia to take part in face-to-face and online training which covers protecting intellectual property, structuring biotech financing deals, designing clinical trials to shorten regulatory approval processes, and enhancing reimbursement returns.
While Dr Gaspari and Dr Hutton come from different research backgrounds and are at different stages in their careers, they are both passionate about executing applied and translational research for the betterment of society. Indeed, the core motivation behind their interest in participating in the Bridge Program was shared: wanting to broaden their knowledge and understanding of the skills required for translation and commercialisation of research.
“Instead of being solely reliant on government funding, there is much greater scope to translate exciting basic research into new therapeutic applications,” Dr Gaspari said.
“However, there is still a very large knowledge gap for researchers moving into the commercialisation space. I hope to gain a better understanding, and develop the skills required for translation and commercialisation of research,” she said.
“In addition, the program will enable me to develop networks and collaborations with local as well as international industry companies, as these relationships are often the backbone to the success of a small company when they are able to partner with larger corporations.”
Being part of a team that recently spun-out a company from Monash, Dr Gaspari hopes "that the Bridge Program will help consolidate my own knowledge base and provide much-needed insight into the commercialisation process, and various stages that I am likely to encounter in my own dealings with our new entity, Inosi Therapeutics".
Echoing this sentiment, Dr Hutton believes "there is a lot to be gained from strengthening the connections between academia and industry, and I think that this course provides an excellent platform for this".
“I hope that participating in the Bridge Program will broaden my knowledge of the legal, financial, clinical and regulatory disciplines that contribute to research translation and the commercialisation of medicines,” she said.
“I am also very excited to have the opportunity to network with top global pharmaceutical companies to discuss how they approach finding new development opportunities and what they are looking for in a collaborator.”
With industry representatives participating from Amgen, CSL, Janssen, Novartis and Pfizer (just to name a few), Dr Gaspari and Dr Hutton will be learning from the best in this year-long program.
About the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute
Committed to making the discoveries that will relieve the future burden of disease, the newly established Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University brings together more than 120 internationally-renowned research teams. Our researchers are supported by world-class technology and infrastructure, and partner with industry, clinicians and researchers internationally to enhance lives through discovery.