Translating Technologies Beyond the Bench.
by Natalie Boehnke, PhD
As a new postdoc at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, expanding my interests and meeting new researchers outside of my lab seemed both critically important and daunting at the same time. How do I make time for this when everyone, myself included, is so busy with research all the time?
Only a few weeks into my postdoc, I heard about the Convergence Scholars Program, and it seemed like the answer to that very question. An opportunity to meet other postdocs (likely with different backgrounds yet similar aspirations) and participate in career building and networking opportunities with a time commitment of less than four hours per month sounded exactly like what I was looking for.
One of my main interests coming into my postdoc focused on bridging the gap between industry and academia, specifically in the context of translating nanotechnology. To me, it often seemed like academic and industry research labs approach problems from dissimilar points of view. It would be great to initiate dialog between the two areas outside of formal collaborations and expose young academic researchers to industry practices early on. Doing so could enable additional research interests, expose young researchers to new areas of research, and potentially streamline communication between the two settings. But in order to expand on this idea of interfacing industry and academia, I would need to have the tools to explore what already exists in this space and connect with people who have similar ideas. Through CSP, I was able to expand views by connecting not only with a panel of industry scientists but also by attending an industry-centric conference, Nanotech and TechConnect 2018 in Anaheim, CA. There, I was able to attend talks detailing successful collaborations and translational efforts between industry and academic labs, such as those initiated by Mark Davis (Caltech) and Frank Szoka (UCSF). Additionally, I interacted with many people from the FDA and National Nanotech Initiative (NNI) who work closely to provide nanomaterial characterization support and guidelines to both industry and academic labs..
The 2018 TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo.
An additional component to exploring the interface of industry and academic research is developing effective communication and project management tools. This is essential not only for building new connections, but also for maintaining and structuring ongoing projects and collaborations. Through CSP, I participated in a project management workshop and attended a scientific leadership course via Harvard Catalyst, providing me with useful tools both inside and outside the lab.
Natalie, Liang, Briana, and Kaitlyn pictured at the State of Women in Biomedical Science seminar at Tufts University (March, 2018).
This past year I was given a unique opportunity to explore interests that took me outside of the lab, allowing me to build new connections and gain skills that ultimately proved to be incredibly important inside the lab as well. I would encourage anyone who is given a similar opportunity to take it, especially since there is a very good chance that it will end up positively affecting, either directly or indirectly, personal research progress and direction too.
Natalie received a B.S. in Chemistry from Purdue University in 2012 followed by a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2017, where she worked with Professor Heather Maynard to synthesize biodegradable materials for the stabilization and delivery of cells and therapeutics. During this time, she also completed several industry internships which sparked her interest in bridging the gap between industry and academia, especially in the context of translational research.
Natalie is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Paula Hammond’s lab. Her research focuses on engineering protease-responsive layer-by-layer nanoparticles for targeted drug delivery applications.