NCBiotech Postdocs Tasting Business Life

Five North Carolina scientists have stepped from the familiar surroundings of academic research into new environments in industry labs, thanks to a grant program established by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center.

The five represent the 2011 class of Industrial Fellowship Program grant recipients in the program operated by the Center to provide real-world industry experience and to improve fellows’ competitive edge for high-level industrial research careers.

This Biotech Center program provides a two-year job conducting research at North Carolina companies. Along with the research experience, the fellows are exposed to intellectual property issues, regulatory affairs, clinical development, client interaction and other business mainstays.

Fellowships Lead to Jobs

"This program has gained popularity with North Carolina companies, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows” said Shobha Parthasarathi, Ph.D., technology development director at the Center and director of the program.

All the fellows who have graduated from this program have found full-time employment in industry. More than half of them continued at the site of the fellowship as permanent employees, while others took jobs at other companies.

“This fellowship has definitely opened doors in industry that might have not been possible otherwise,” said Parthasarathi.

The Biotechnology Center selects companies for the fellowship program through a competitive process that evaluates their commitment to mentorship and the fellows’ professional development, as well as on technical merit.

The Biotechnology Center pays most of the salary and benefits for the trainees, with participating companies sharing the cost based on the size of the business.

The 2011 North Carolina Biotechnology Center Industrial Fellows and their companies include:

• Katherine (Katie) Horvath, Ph.D., Liquidia Technologies, Research Triangle Park
• Dana Peles, Ph.D., GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park  
• Jessica Koczan, Ph.D., SePRO, Whitakers, N.C.
• Erin Falco, Ph.D., KeraNetics, Winston-Salem
• Diane Villalon, Ph.D., Parion Sciences, Durham