Growing Great Ideas: Research Education Course in Product Development and Entrepreneurship for Life Science Researchers

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks to advance its mission by establishing a well-recognized entrepreneurship teaching program with the demonstrated ability and passion to adapt, develop, and deliver a customized, substance use disorder (SUD)-centric curriculum in entrepreneurship and biomedical product development, targeting domestic innovators in the field of SUD research. With the appropriate training and guidance for the drug addiction science workforce, academic researchers will be better equipped with the skills to translate their discoveries into products, thus facilitating groundbreaking solutions generated in academic research to reach the populations they intend to help. The course will focus on early-stage innovation endeavors in preparing drug addiction researchers to recognize the potential of their research ideas and critically assess them for viable product development opportunities; utilize business ideation tools to evaluate the market and understand paths to commercialization; perform customer discovery; establish intellectual property protections; develop approaches to regulatory considerations; understand the reimbursement landscape; source capital, such as Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) funding; and generate revenue.

Applications are not being solicited at this time. Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop a grant application to include both a proposed curriculum to be delivered in a hybrid format, in which a portion of the course must be offered for in-person attendance, and outreach strategy outlining the plans to recruit US-based SUD researchers and innovators to take part in the course. Grant authorities that allow NIDA to forecast this opportunity are as follows: Section 301 (42 U.S.C. § 241) and Section 405 (42 U.S.C. § 284).