Dr. Martha Wang participates in Women in Bio event

Fischell Institute Associate Director Dr. Martha Wang attended the Women in Bio Research Triangle Park (WIB-RTP): Driving Innovation and Entrepreneurship – The I-Corps Program event in March. The event took place in the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and was co-hosted by North Carolina State University and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Wang was invited to speak at the event as a past I-Corps participant, having completed UMD I-Corps in January 2020 as the Academic Lead and Faculty Mentor for the D.C. Shoulder team. The team consisted of Wang and MPowering the State Student Entrepreneurship Fellows Rayan Alabsi and Tejasvi Subramanya, who were interested in commercializing their novel reverse shoulder implant.

During the WIB-RTP program, Wang spoke about her experience with I-Corps and answered questions about her time in the program, including challenges faced and what the application process was like. Additionally, she provided advice to those interested in participating in a future I-Corps cohort. She noted the most significant benefit from her time in the program was learning the I-Corps curriculum, as she can use those principles to evaluate new technologies that the Fischell Institute is considering bringing to market.

"I-Corps taught me how to evaluate a technology by asking end users about their procedures and the pain points they have to better understand their needs, rather than trying to sell them a technology," she said.

In addition to assessing the viability of new technologies for the Fischell Institute, Wang has found she can utilize some concepts from the I-Corps program in the medical device development course she instructs at the University of Maryland.

"If you're able to separate your preconceptions about why or how a technology can be most useful, then you'll be able to see if your technology is a good fit to address a problem," she said. "One of the key concepts I learned was that even if you hit a dead end with your technology, the customer discovery process can identify areas that you can pivot to."

Wang ended the event by stating that completing an I-Corps program is key for obtaining future funding as it demonstrates that you have vetted the customer proposition of the technology.

"I-Corps has opened many doors, and I am thrilled to have been able to share my experience at this event," she said.

Published May 15, 2023