I-Corps Program

Faculty, clinicians, staff or students with biomedical innovations or ideas who are interested in learning more about the process of customer discovery and how it can improve their research and accelerate translation into clinical practice should consider applying for I-Corps.

Participants should be able to commit to attending all sessions throughout the course and be willing to find and talk to at least 30 potential customers in five weeks.

• Identify needs from the customer perspective through the customer discovery process.
• Enhance and accelerate research and competitiveness of funding proposals by developing a compelling business case for research, focused on value propositions, customer segments, revenue and costs.
• Define the clinical utility for a technology before spending resources on development. Gather data essential to customer partnerships and collaborations before doing the science.
• Understand and further define the commercial market for a technology.
• Build relationships with essential partners within the Penn State innovation ecosystem and external stakeholders.
• Recognize the barriers that industry faces and the sales/marketing process required for initial clinical sales and downstream commercialization.
• Strengthen self-confidence and presentation skills through biweekly presentations.

The course includes education on topics unique to biomedical research commercialization utilizing the scientific method as a way to test potential commercial pathways and build a compelling business case. The Business Model Canvas guides participants through hypothesis testing as they identify key customers and refine the commercial market for the technology.

I-Corps focuses primarily on the customer discovery process, a methodology for uncovering the underlying causes of customer needs. A significant amount of time will be spent scheduling, conducting and debriefing interviews. Entrepreneurial mentors will provide feedback to participants based on their customer discovery presentations. Participants are asked to complete five interviews per week as part of the course. Teams then use the data and feedback to help guide product development and build a successful business case for securing funding.

Each cohort will accept up to eight teams. Teams should have a minimum of two members and a maximum of four members. Those interested in joining an existing team should select the appropriate box on the application form.

Typical teams include the following members:

• Academic lead: The academic lead is preferably an individual with an academic appointment that would qualify this member to submit proposals or play a role of principal investigator in subsequent submissions to the National Science Foundation (NSF) or National Institutes of Health (NIH). The academic lead can also be a postdoctoral scholar, a student, a professional staff member or an alumnus, provided the individual has a deep understanding of the technology that serves as the focus of the project.
• Entrepreneurial lead: The entrepreneurial lead is a postdoctoral scholar, a student, a professional staff member or an alumnus with relevant knowledge of the technology and a deep commitment to investigating the commercial landscape surrounding the innovation.
• Mentor: A mentor can either apply as part of a team or be provided by the program. A mentor will typically be an experienced or emerging entrepreneur who can transition technology out of an academic lab. A mentor is responsible for guiding the team forward and tracking progress.
• Student team members: Penn State students are welcome to participate as team members during the course. As team members, students can gain value through the process and assist with scheduling and conducting interviews, as well as assisting with presentation materials.​

Attendance is required for at least one team member at each class session. Participants and teams are expected to commit approximately 10 hours per week for the duration of the program. Current and upcoming cohort schedules are listed below.

To apply, please complete the online registration on InfoReady at the link below. Registration deadline for the spring 2024 cohort is April 1, 2024.

Apply here

The I-Corps@NCATS network extends across the entire country through regionally dispersed Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) hubs.

Penn State College of Medicine was awarded Mentor Node status in 2020 as part of a three-year mentoring grant from NCATS at the National Institutes for Health.

Mentor Nodes

• Emory University/GATech
• Penn State
• Rockefeller University
• University of Alabama at Birmingham
• University of California – Davis
• University of Colorado – Denver
• University of Massachusetts Medical School – Worcester
• University of Miami School of Medicine
• University of Michigan at Ann Arbor

Trainee Sites

• Case Western Reserve University
• Columbia University Health Sciences
• Medical College of Wisconsin
• Medical University of South Carolina
• Northwestern University at Chicago
• Oregon Health & Sciences University
• Rutgers Biomedical/Health Sciences
• University of Buffalo
• University of Chicago
• University of Rochester
• University of Texas Medical Branch – Galveston
• University of Utah
• University of Virginia