(505g) Quantum Dots for Clinical Cancer Diagnostics: A Translation Story

Many of you are familiar with what it takes to publish your research, but what does it take to commercialize your work? Starting in 2012, my team and I began the effort of commercializing research that we developed in our lab by founding a start-up company. In this talk, I will describe challenges encountered in this process, from finding a CEO to raising money. I will particularly focus on the differences between working at a small start-up company, larger industry, and a research lab, including what you can reasonably expect in terms of hours, compensation, and work responsibilities. I will also discuss steps that you can take to prepare yourself for a career at a start-up. This discussion will take place through the model of my own commercialization experience, using quantum dots for clinical cancer diagnostics.