Reflection of 2023 Summer By Design Workshop

19th June to 28th June by Dr Margeaux Hodgson-Garms

With the sponsorship of the Australian Centre for the Commercialisation of Regenerative Medicine (CCRM Australia) I was able to attend the Summer by Design program in Toronto, Canada from June 18-29th this year. I am writing to provide a debrief on my attendance and express my sincere gratitude for the support of CCRM Australia.

Summer by Design (SbD) is an eight-day intensive program hosted by the University of Toronto’s Medicine by Design initiative. The SbD program runs in partnership with; the Canadian Centre for the Commercialisation of Regenerative Medicine, the Rotman School of Management, and Stem Cell Network, providing an international cohort of post graduate students and postdoctoral research fellows with a foundation in the business of regenerative medicine. I applied for the SbD program through CCRM Australia in early 2019 and was offered the opportunity to attend, along with a CCRM Australia Travel Grant valued at $2,500, which covered my flights, visas, and health insurance. As part of my attendance, Medicine by Design covered the cost of the workshop and accommodation on the University campus. While my attendance at the SbD program was delayed due to Covid19 travel restrictions I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to attend in 2023.

Photo courtesy of Dr Margeaux Hodgson-Garms

The SbD program consists of expert-led interactive sessions, lectures, group-work, and case studies structured to build an understanding of the technology translation pipeline and to introduce the broader business of regenerative medicine. Topics covered included; commercialisation, company creation and valuation, intellectual property, regulatory affairs, technology strategy, clinical translation, technology and market assessment, manufacturing and scale up, marketing, economic reimbursement, and strategic communications and pitching. The program also included intensive workshops and one-on-one coaching by Talk Boutique master coaches designed to develop presentation and pitch skills. These were showcased by a competition in which participants pitched their research and were provided with expert feedback with the opportunity for follow-up meetings with Talk Boutique coaches. Beyond academic value the SbD program also presented participants with the opportunity to explore Toronto’s dynamic life sciences hub and regenerative medicine ecosystem while building an exemplary global network of industry leaders and international peers.

Having completed an industry-based PhD program as part of the Regenerative Medicine in Industry Interface, and subsequently accepted a role as an industry-based postdoctoral research fellow, the SbD program has allowed me to place my work into a broader context along the translational and commercialisation pipeline. I have gained a greater understanding of the business of regenerative medicine, giving me the ability to better foreshadow the needs of translational research projects, and I have learnt valuable skills that will serve me in both academic and industry roles. A stronger understanding of manufacturing and scale up processes will now allow me to adjust research methodology and project designs earlier in anticipation of GMP and production requirements. The ability to assess technology strategy and consider market assessments when developing IP claims will allow me to frame these to better develop and preserve value. Techniques for patent analytics have already allowed me to identify key patent classes, relevant to my research, and interrogate them to identify innovation trends and key research labs or inventors, this has been particularly valuable to assess potential career opportunities.

One of the key aspects of the SbD program is the occasion to foster networking opportunities, both between participants and with industry leaders. The small cohort, and the range of team building activities facilitated by the SbD program meant that I was able to develop both personal and professional connections with other early career researchers from all over the world, including The University of British Columbia and the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, the Rockefeller University in New York, Lund University in Sweden, Hannover Medical School in Germany, University of York in the U.K, and many more. Interactive sessions and time set-aside for networking also supported connections with industry leaders such as Michael May, President and CEO of CCRM, Jon Draper, Vice President of Stem Cell Network, Sonia Sennik, Executive Director of the Creative Destruction Lab, and Dr Michael Laflamme, Senior Scientist and Robert R. McEwen Chair in Cardiac Regenerative Medicine at University Health Network and founding investigator of BlueRock Therapeutics. Through these connections I have been able to build potential future collaborations, with many of the SbD participants working in closely related fields. As a direct result, I have been invited to present my research virtually to a group at Lund University in Sweden, with the goal of developing a skill exchange program. Furthermore, the opportunity to network with such a wide range of industry partners has opened new career opportunities for me and offered perspective on the types of roles available outside of academia. The opportunity to visit Toronto also allowed me to establish connections beyond the SbD program. I was able to meet with Prof. Boris Hinz and their group from the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Dentistry, to present my research and learn about the projects they are currently undertaking. This has also resulted in plans for members of the Hinz group to present virtually at Monash’s Bioengineering node seminar next month to share their work.

The program was, overall, fantastic, providing engaging content, extensive networking opportunities, and facilitating exploration of Toronto ecosystem. SbD is, however, tailored heavily towards the regenerative medicine sector in Canada and the US, resulting in some content that was less relevant to international participants. The SbD program provided a perspective across the entire pipeline of the business of commercialisation and translation of regenerative medicine. Through this, and the opportunities to talk one-on-one with presenters, it was able to highlight career options outside of academia, which I, and many other participants had previous not considered. The SbD program presented individual journeys in commercialisation and worked hard to destigmatise the idea of moving away from academia after a PhD. This has been particularly important for me as I look to define my career after graduation.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to CCRM Australia for supporting this opportunity. The Summer by Design program has been an immensely valuable experience, both personally and professionally, and I am confident that the skills, knowledge, and connections I have made will support my future career whether it be in academia or industry or both.

With great appreciation,

Dr Margeaux Hodgson-Garms