Post-Doc Placement as a Means of Technology Transfer Clifford Lanham Consultant, Technology Planning & Management Rockville Economic Development, Inc.

Post-Doc Fellows in Federal Labs o 1,500 – 2,000 post-docs in the metro D.C. area o Typically in labs for 1-2 years o Upon completion of their fellowships, most will not find employment in the labs or academia

Program Objectives o Transfer knowledge to local economy o Encourage entrepreneurship o Help post-docs plan for alternative careers o Utilize lab knowledge and contacts at local companies o Provide resume and interview assistance

-Committee met monthly from 11/05 – 5/06 Show Conference Committee - diverse committee including... - Show Agenda of the Conference Post-Doc Conference & Career Expo o Diverse committee met monthly from November ’05 to May ’06 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Federal Lab Consortium (FLC) Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO) Montgomery College Macklin Center Montgomery County Department of Economic Development Montgomery County Department of Workforce Services Montgomery Works NASA National Academy of Sciences (NAS) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) National Institutes of Health (NIH) Naval Research Lab (NRL) Rockville Economic Development, Inc. Tech Council of Maryland United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID)

Post-Doc Conference & Career Expo o Conference Highlights: o Traditional, Non-Traditional, and Entrepreneurial Tracks o Interviewing Skills Panel o One-on-One Resume Critiques o Opportunities to meet potential employers

Conference Results o 328 post-docs representing the following fields: o Animal Sciences, Biochemistry, Biology/Virology, Biophysics, Biotech, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Higher Education Management, Immunology, Mathematics, Nanotech, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, Physics, Psychology, Surgical Science o 30 companies in attendance o Positive feedback regarding resume assistance & immigration information o Several attendees received job offers from exhibiting companies o Post-docs’ resumes created a resume bank

Lessons Learned o Post-Docs needed information in advance to optimally profit from the conference. o Entrepreneurship o Most post-docs had never thought about becoming entrepreneurs o Post-docs did not know they can receive assistance from local economic development agencies including information on starting a company and leasing space in an incubator o Technology Transfer o Virtually none knew about laboratory technology transfer or that post-docs can collaborate with Federal labs after they have left

Lessons Learned o Labs should: o Make post-docs aware of technology transfer mechanisms and assistance o Encourage post-docs to become entrepreneurs o Educate post-docs to get help from local economic development agencies and incubators o Participate in planning next year’s conference (tentatively June 27, 2007)

Clifford Lanham, Consultant, Technology Planning & Management Sally Sternbach, Executive Director Contact