Each Gerotech Incubator Program team includes two to three engineering students, one medical resident or nursing doctoral candidate, two business students (representing finance and marketing), and several faculty mentors (clinician, engineer, business).
During Phase 1, the “discovery mode,” team members in each incubator first spend one to months in orientation and training before working over several months to identify and articulate the clinically relevant problem to be solved, through shadowing of clinicians and literature surveys. Then they develop a solution, perform a market analysis, and provide proof of principle. Phase 1 culminates with a prototype/product development.
The most promising ideas/products from move to Phase 2, the “accelerator mode,” during which the incubator team will identify funding resources, test prototypes, develop patents, and solicit industry support (for products). For solutions that take the form of clinical findings, teams will develop educational content and develop methods for dissemination, including through publication.
The Human Aging Project Gerotech Incubator Program is now accepting applications from students and trainees to join one of its seven innovation incubators.