About the Job:

The Innovation Fellows Program at The University of Minnesota Earl E. Bakken Medical Devices Center (BMDC) is recruiting a cross-disciplinary team of go-getters for collaborative medical device innovation.  Individuals will acquire broad exposure to topics relevant to medical device development such as pathophysiology, market understanding, brainstorming, study design, regulatory environment, reimbursement, strategy, finance, as well as prototyping, and bench-top testing.  Learning will take place through sessions with leaders in the med-tech ecosystem, homework assignments, assigned readings, market research, case studies, and hands-on project work.  Fellows will collaborate with clinical faculty, and will be encouraged to apply for grants to further support their projects.  Fellows typically present their proposed solutions to potential investors for feedback.  The goal is for team members to acquire the skills, relationships, experience, and confidence to become medical device innovators.â¨

We invite Fellows to participate either as paid full-time or volunteer part-time members of the team.  Part-time members continue to work with their employer while allocating one day per week to the Program.

For more information:  http://www.mdc.umn.edu/fellows.html

Job duties with percent allocations are as follows:
Education (10%)
• Attend meetings and presentations of invited speakers
• Attend conferences and report on what was learned and important contacts made
• Attend grand rounds, morbidity & mortality, seminars on campus
• Prepare readings, homework, and case studies

Market Research (20%)
• Develop collaborative relationships with physicians, researchers and medical device professionals
• Observe medical practice in clinics, hospitals, ORs, and other institutions
• Identify and collect unmet clinical needs
• Research databases of disease demographics to understand burden of unmet needs
• Filter and prioritize needs
• Interview clinical customers
• Attend medical conferences

Concept Development (20%)
• Ideate new concepts and solutions to unmet needs
• Develop concept prototypes
• Seek, meet with and maintain relationships with project collaborators
• Prepare and file intellectual property disclosures
• Work with attorneys to draft patents

Biomedical Research (40%)
• Clinical observations
• Study of physiology, pathophysiology, anatomy, and pathology
• Develop working prototypes
• Test prototypes and iterate design based on testing
• Draft protocol for bench top feasibility studies
• Conduct bench top feasibility studies
• Prepare data tables and lessons learned from feasibility studies
• Prepare data for publication or presentation

Research Dissemination (10%)
• Develop business plan around medical device
• Identify funding sources (grants, licenses, investment)
• Prepare grant applications
• Prepare the clinical and commercial case for funding this project

Successful candidates are creative, collaborative, and self-driven.