The Emory Biotech Consulting Club (EBCC) was conceptualized by Prof. Bill Wuest and later co-founded together with his postdoc, Taylor Hari, and graduate student, Erika Csatary, in the summer months of 2018 under the Innovate@Emory initiative. With the support of Prof. Dennis Liotta, the EBCC launched in the Spring 2019 semester as a highly collaborative semester-long start-up accelerator where “business and science meet.” As such, while membership is open to the entire Emory community (and extended to neighboring institutions like Georgia Tech and Georgia State University), there is an emphasis on connecting STEM and business graduate students. We anticipate the program will allow participants to apply their current expertise and to develop new skill-sets via experiential learning in alternative disciplines that improves networking and career prospects. This interdisciplinary program is funded by Dean Lisa Tedesco (Laney Graduate School) and actively partnered with Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), who are instrumental for helping recruit participating start-ups. Based on strong relationships with Emory Advancement & Alumni Engagement and the Georgia Research Alliance, we anticipate the opportunity for growth into neighboring institutions within the Greater Atlanta Area.

Emory University

The EBCC program aims to benefit Emory University by enhancing the university network through new partnerships and collaborations with start-ups in the Atlanta area. Moreover, as part of the Innovate@Emory initiative, we want to use this program to promote and drive innovation and entrepreneurial spirit across campus. From this, we hope that this can attract new and prospective students, or increase potential donations from alumni and/or local businesses. This could lead to improved metrics relating to student success, such as job placement, innovative opportunities, and overall better feedback and ratings.

Student Population

– build network via direct contact with experts; hands-on learning outside of their areas of study; utilize current expertise in new ways, develop new skill sets in alternative disciplines; improve career opportunities

Start-Up companies (PIs)

– advance ideas/early-stage technologies; decrease workload from core research; achieve faster results and increase likelihood of securing funding or launching business; view research as a marketable commodity

Georgia Research Alliance

– promote presence within Emory network; provide access to new start-ups outside of the GRA affiliation; expand university research into successful start-ups; opportunity to grow EBCC within the Greater Atlanta area (Georgia Tech, GSU, Mercer, KSU, Morehouse College, Spelman College, Oglethorpe University, Gwinnett College, SCAD)

Office of Technology Transfer

– improve the likelihood of project success via market analysis; increase efficiency with preparation of certification evaluation reports (CER); attract new partners; increase awareness of OTT offerings within Emory network