The Australian medical technology, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector faces the challenge of not only making scientific and technological breakthroughs, but seeing them successfully translated and commercialised. The Bridge Program – an industry supported program aims to solve this challenge by training researchers and industry professionals to bridge the gap between academia and industry, and ultimately the gap between research discovery and life-saving solutions for patients.
One researcher who is motivated to close this gap is Dr Simona Carbone: Co-Director of the Integrated Neurogenic Mechanisms Laboratory and ARC DECRA Fellow at Monash University. Simona also hosts the Lead Candidate podcast, where she shares conversations with industry and academic leaders in science.
“My interactions and collaborations with industry have taught me that the motivations driving academic versus industry professionals can be very different. But successful collaboration is particularly important for Australian research, which has a history of success in basic science discoveries, but limited translation of these ideas to the clinic,” Simona said.
She applied for the Bridge Program to grow this important connection with prospective industry collaborators in the Australian biotech ecosystem and to learn and leverage opportunities they present, which she found at events like the program’s 3-Day Symposium.
Events that grow networks
As part of a year-long seminar series, the Bridge Program’s 3-Day Symposium event hosts a line-up of national and international biotech industry speakers. Participants take part in a collaborative activity, attend a Gala dinner, and network face-to-face with leaders from the program’s industry and university partner organisations.
Networking at the Bridge Program 2022 Symposium event.
“Meeting fellow participants and listening to speakers at the Symposium gave me valuable insights into other people’s experiences and commercialisation pathways. It gave me more confidence to go to industry networking events, to meet people and chat to them,” Simona said.
The extra opportunities offer the most benefit
Simona took part in the program’s Pitch Competition where participants pitch real or fictional IP to a prospective partner audience and receive real feedback from industry professionals.
“Creating the 2-minute video pitch wasn’t too daunting because there were lots of resources available to help me. It was a bit like doing an assignment where I got to put what I was learning from the course modules into practice,” Simona said.
Simona’s pitch won the competition’s $10k travel prize, including a ticket to the BIO International Convention in San Diego and a tour of big pharma facilities, with plenty of opportunities to meet industry representatives along the way.
“The trip was an amazing networking opportunity that put me in contact with people across the pharma and biotech industry. I met a new mentor at BIO and will cherish this experience for a long time. I think it will shape the future direction of my career.
“My advice is to definitely take part in the extra activities the program offers, like the pitch competition. Just give it a go because your odds of being successful are better than you think,” Simona said.
Simona Carbone (centre) with fellow Bridge Program Pitch Competition winners (left to right) Fernando Guimaraes, Yadveer Grewal, Vivian Liao, Raymond Luong, Erin Brazel & Sally McFadden at the program’s 2022 Symposium Gala dinner.
Relevant and concise course materials
Simona felt she took away a lot more from BIO because of what she had learnt from the Bridge Program’s course content.
“I find even in my job now I have more confidence when it comes to engaging with industry. I was completing the program’s online modules and the content related perfectly to my industry-facing project at work. The course materials gave me that extra bit of knowledge, I felt confident and reassured.
“The online modules presented a lot of information in a concise way that would be useful for anyone interested in doing research that is clinically relevant. I found topics that piqued my interest and got me thinking about where I want to take my career,” Simona said.
Join a nation-wide network of biotech professionals
Each year, researchers like Simona Carbone are joined by professionals from across Australia and New Zealand to take part in the Bridge Program – from entrepreneurs through to business development and government professionals.
Supported by a consortium of industry and university partners, participants join one of the country’s most significant pharmaceutical and biotech networks. They take part in a series of events, activities, and seminars while undertaking self-paced, online training to develop a comprehensive understanding of the pharmaceutical commercialisation pathway.