Companies invited to submit applications for positions
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., July 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
North Carolina Biotechnology Center has unveiled a unique fellowship
program to help postdoctoral scientists from the state's research
universities transition into industry R&D careers.
The NCBC Industrial Fellowship Program will retain home-grown research
talent by providing work experience in North Carolina's life-science
companies. It is designed to fill a gap for scientists in need of industry
experience as well as for companies in need of scientific expertise.
"We know of nowhere else in the world where there is a defined pathway
for life scientists seeking to transition from academia to industry," said
Rob Lindberg, Ph.D., R.A.C., director of the Biotechnology Center's
Business Acceleration and Technology Out-licensing Network (BATON) program.
Many called, few chosen
North Carolina's universities conferred 280 Ph.D. degrees in the life
sciences in 2006. Graduates aiming for academic research careers must then
complete one or more postdoctoral fellowships to compete for junior faculty
positions.
North Carolina universities presently employ roughly 3,000 postdoctoral
fellows. Yet only 25 to 50 percent of them will ultimately be hired for
tenure-track, academic faculty positions - rarely at the university that
provided the postdoctoral training.
"Not surprisingly, many freshly minted Ph.D. scientists and
postdoctoral fellows are considering futures in industry," said Lindberg.
"But unlike degree programs in fields such as engineering, law or
business, graduate and post-graduate scientific training programs do not
typically provide exposure to the world outside of academia as a formal
component of the training."
Bottleneck on the bench
There's a bottleneck, said the Biotechnology Center's Shobha
Parthasarathi, Ph.D., the technology development director and fellowship
program director. As a former postdoctoral fellow at Millennium
Pharmaceuticals in Massachusetts, she understands the problem first-hand.
Mid-level scientific positions typically require both postdoctoral
training and commercial experience, she said, yet few companies provide
transitional opportunities. Moreover, there is little consensus as to what
constitutes an entry-level corporate position for a Ph.D. scientist with no
industry experience. Many small- and mid-size companies can only afford to
hire researchers as either technicians or as senior scientists. Ph.D.
scientists coming out of academia are often dismissed as being
overqualified for technical jobs but not qualified enough for senior
positions.
Program details
To facilitate the connection between scientist and company, the
Biotechnology Center will provide two years of salary and benefits for five
NCBC Industrial Fellowship recipients per year. Eligible sponsors are North
Carolina biotechnology companies that are engaged in discovery or contract
research. The company must provide a senior scientist to mentor the fellow.
Fellows are Ph.D. scientists who are hired by the sponsor company as
full-time employees. Additionally, NCBC fellows will have access to
programs in business, intellectual property, regulatory affairs and other
areas to complement their training.
Five sponsoring companies will be chosen by the Biotechnology Center
for the first year of the program. The Biotechnology Center will collect
scientists' applications and forward them to the chosen companies for final
selection.
Call for sponsoring companies
The Biotechnology Center is currently accepting applications from
sponsoring companies. Details and applications for companies and fellowship
candidates are available at http://www.ncbiotech.org/fellowship.
The deadline for company applications is July 15, 2008.
The Biotechnology Center is a private, non-profit corporation supported
by the N.C. General Assembly. Its mission is to provide long-term economic
and societal benefits to North Carolina by supporting biotechnology
research, business and education statewide.
Contact: Chris Brodie, vice president, corporate communications,
chris_brodie@ncbiotech.org or Rob Lindberg, rob_lindberg@ncbiotech.org, at
919-541-9366. Visit the Biotechnology Center's Web site at
http://www.ncbiotech.org.
SOURCE North Carolina Biotechnology Center
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Related links:
http://www.ncbiotech.org
CONTACT:
Chris Brodie, vice president, corporate
communications, chris_brodie@ncbiotech.org, or Rob Lindberg,
rob_lindberg@ncbiotech.org, both of North Carolina Biotechnology
Center, +1-919-541-9366
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