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The NCI Technology Transfer Center (TTC) has fellowship opportunities available to qualified candidates in the fast growing field of technology transfer. This fellowship opportunity combines a science, legal or business background with a new career in technology transfer. The TTC is responsible for negotiating agreements, promoting research partnerships with NCI scientists, and the patenting and licensing of NCI technologies. TTC also has a unit dedicated to marketing and outreach for these research opportunities and their underlying technologies to potential collaborators and licensees. This experience prepares the Fellow for technology transfer positions within universities, industry or the federal government. The TTC has offices in Rockville and Frederick, MD. Applicants should indicate the position(s) and location(s) of interest in their application.  There are current openings for both the Combined and Negotiator Fellowships. 

Technology Transfer Fellowship - Negotiator (Rockville or Frederick, MD Offices)
Candidate will be responsible for:

• Drafting and negotiating Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs) for NCI scientists and their industrial/academic research partners;
• Drafting and negotiating licenses for NCI technologies;
• Planning and negotiating Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Clinical Trial Agreements (CTAs) and other technology transfer agreements;
• Managing patent prosecution of inventions and overseeing patent related issues for NCI scientists;
• Developing technology transfer educational programs for scientists;
• Working with the Invention Development and Marketing Unit, researchers and outside parties to help foster commercialization of technologies and collaborative/partnering opportunities;
• Other duties as pertaining to intellectual property management and technology transfer.

Technology Transfer Fellowship - Combined Negotiator and Marketing (Frederick, MD Office only) 
This fellowship opportunity is designed to develop the unique skills associated with both negotiating technology transfer agreements and marketing a large portfolio. Approximately 50% time will be dedicated to each function.
Candidate will be responsible for: 

• The Negotiator responsibilities described above;
• Working on marketing strategies/campaigns and descriptive marketing advertisements to attract research partners, and generating leads for technologies; 
• Developing comprehensive understanding of technology portfolio in order to serve as subject matter expert;
• Advising intramural researchers on technology development strategies;
• Monitoring responses to marketing campaigns and develop business relationships with company business development sources; 
• Acting as one of the liaisons between the NCI and outside parties requesting additional information on collaborative/partnering opportunities. 

 
Minimum Requirements 
•    An advanced degree in the sciences, law, business, economics, or public health.  All candidates must have a background in the sciences;
•    Have received most current degree within the last 8 years; 
•    U.S. citizen or permanent resident (must hold green card) eligible for citizenship within 4 years; 
•    Excellent writing and speaking skills.   

Stipends are determined by the level of education and number of years of experience post-graduation. Starting stipends for those with no experience are: Master's degree $35,500; Ph.D. $50,800. Starting stipends are higher with relevant work experience in technology transfer and/or additional, applicable degrees. Stipends are paid monthly in arrears. Health benefits are provided. Annual stipend increases may be given on the Fellow's anniversary date. 

To apply: Submit a copy of your resume or CV, a statement of interest explaining why you are interested in the TTC fellowship program, and two letters of recommendation by one of the following: 
E-mail to: kgriffin@mail.nih.gov Fax to: Attention: TTC Fellowship Coordinator (fax# 240-276-5504); or Mail to: Attention: TTC Fellowship Coordinator Technology Transfer Center National Cancer Institute 9609 Medical Center Drive., Rm. 1E530 MSC 9702, Bethesda, MD 20892
DHHS/NIH/NCI are Equal Opportunity Employers.  
 

Update: The National Cancer Institute is honored by the Federal Laboratory Consortium's 2016 “Excellence in Technology Transfer” Awards. Awardees discuss their award-winning collaborations in these two new videos: 

NCI – Development of First Immunotherapy to Treat Chordoma, a Rare Cancer

Discovery to Commercialization: A New Immunotherapy for a Rare Childhood Cancer, Neuroblastoma

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) was the recipient of two "Excellence in Technology Transfer" awards at the  Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) Annual Meeting in April, 2016. The award “recognizes employees of FLC member laboratories and non-laboratory staff who have accomplished outstanding work in the process of transferring federally developed technology,” explains the FLC. To learn more about why NCI received this recognition as well as the individuals behind them, see below.

AWARD WINNER:

“Development of First Immunotherapy to Treat Chordoma, Rare Bone Cancer”

“Development of First Immunotherapy to Treat Chordoma, a Rare Bone Cancer” was selected for exemplifying excellence in technology transfer process because of the complexity and the dedication of the team involved. To help advance NCI’s discovery of a vaccine capable of inducing a specific, targeted immune response against cancer cells expressing the brachyury protein, NCI formed collaborations with three commercial partners to develop brachyury vaccines. These collaborations led to the rapid translation of investigational therapeutic vaccines with the potential to revolutionize how researchers and physicians treat many cancers. Furthermore, the collaborations led to new intellectual property, licensing activities, and the management of several issued patents and pending patent applications. While NCI’s commitment to collaborate with multiple partners is helping to realize the discovery’s full potential, the resulting, rapid scientific process has required careful management of a complex technology transfer process. To learn more about the outcome from one of the collaborations, see: Vaccine Therapy for Unresectable Chordoma.

WINNERS:
Mojdeh Bahar, J.D., U.S.Department of Agriculture (formerly of the NIH Office of Technology Transfer)
Kevin Brand, J.D., Center for Disease Control and Prevention (formerly of the NCI Technology Transfer Center)
Kevin W. Chang, Ph.D., NCI Technology Transfer Center
Sabarni Chatterjee, Ph.D., NCI Technology Transfer Center
James Gulley, M.D., Ph.D., Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research, NCI
Christopher Heery, M.D., Clinical Trials Group,Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI
Claudia Palena, Ph.D., Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI
Michael Pollack, Ph.D., NCI Technology Transfer Center
Jeffrey Schlom, Ph.D., Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, NCI

Pictured left to right: Mojdeh Bahar (winner), Kevin Brand (winner); Paul Zielinski, FLC Executive Board Chair; Christopher Heery (winner); Claudia Palena (winner); Thomas Stackhouse, Ph.D., NCI; Sabarni Chatterjee (winner); Mark Reeves, FLC Vice Chair; Ana Amar, NIH Agency Representative to the FLC

AWARD WINNER:

“Discovery to Commercialization: New Immunotherapy for Rare Childhood Cancer, Neuroblastoma”

Prior to a groundbreaking discovery by scientists supported by the NCI, fewer than 40 percent of children with high-risk neuroblastoma lived five years after diagnosis. Now an immunotherapy 30 years in the making, ch14.18, Unituxin^TM (dinutuximab), is providing new hope for infants and children with this rare cancer. On March 10, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Unituxin™ (dinutuximab also known as ch14.18) as part of first-line therapy for pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma, a rare cancer that most often occurs in young children. On August 17, 2015, the European Commission (EC) also granted Marketing Authorization for Unituxin. “Discovery to Commercialization: New Immunotherapy for Rare Childhood Cancer, Neuroblastoma” was recognized by the FLC for exemplifying T2 excellence. It was a remarkably productive, collaborative effort between the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR), the Children's Oncology Group, and United Therapeutics Corporation (UTC) resulting in commercialization and approval.

To learn more see: https://techtransfer.cancer.gov/aboutttc/successstories/dinutuximabunituxin and FDA Approves First Therapy for High-Risk Neuroblastoma

WINNERS:

Sherry Ansher, Ph.D., Regulatory Affairs Branch, Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, NCI
Donna Bialozor, NCI Technology Transfer Center
Jan Casadei, Ph.D., Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, NCI
Beverly Keseling, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research (FNLCR)
Karen Muszynski, Ph.D., Biological Resources Branch, Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, NCI
Samir Shaban, M.S., Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc. Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research
Malcolm Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Investigations Branch, Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis, NCI
L. Mary Smith, Ph.D., United Therapeutics Corp.
Alice Yu, M.D., Ph.D., University of California in San Diego Medical Center

Pictured from left to right: Malcom Smith (winner); L. Mary Smith (winner); Paul Zielinski, FLC Executive Board Chair; Donna Bialozor (winner), Alice Yu (winner); Tom Stackhouse (NCI Associate Director); Beverly Keseling (winner); Karen Muszynski (winner); Mark Reeves, FLC Vice Chair; Ana Amar, NIH Agency Representative to the FLC; Samir Shaban (winner)

Update July 2016: Winners of Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer Announced

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The National Cancer Institute has partnered with the Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) to launch the Nanotechnology Startup Challenge in Cancer or NSC2. The Challenge is centered on commercially viable, nanotechnology cancer-related inventions conceived by the NCI. Once accepted into the Challenge, international teams will compete by selecting one of these intramural inventions, and creating a business plan to launch a startup. Alternatively, teams may also elect to bring other commercially viable, nanotechnology cancer-related inventions into the challenge that are not from NCI. The primary goal of the Challenge is to stimulate the creation of start-up businesses to advance development and commercialization of these nanotechnology inventions. NSC2 started accepting entries on October 12, 2015 and will continue to accept them until March 14, 2016. Those teams will then move into the second phase of the challenge and work to create and present their business plans and pitch to a panel of judges spanning industry, venture capital, serial entrepreneurship, government and more . To learn more about NSC2, the inventions, and how to enter, visit http://www.NSCsquared.org.

NSC2 is the third NIH Startup Challenge and is based upon the award-winning model created by the Breast Cancer Startup Challenge, followed by the Neuro Startup Challenge (see Challenge.gov Celebrates Five Years of Open Innovation).

The Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer(FLC) of the Mid-Atlantic Region recognized outstanding efforts in the field of technology transfer, including honoring NCI TTC with two awards, at its November 2015 annual meeting in Maryland. NCI TTC received the “Excellence in Technology Transfer” honors for its work supporting two efforts, entitled: “First FDA approval:  combination therapy for rare childhood cancer, Neuroblastoma,” and “Development of First Immunotherapy to Treat Chordoma, Rare Bone Cancer.” http://www.flcmidatlantic.org/awards/2015/

The FLC for Technology Transfer (FLC) is the nationwide network of federal laboratories that provides the forum to develop strategies and opportunities for linking laboratory mission technologies and expertise with the marketplace. The FLC “Excellence in Technology Transfer” award “recognizes employees of FLC member laboratories and non-laboratory staff who have accomplished outstanding work in the process of transferring federally developed technology.”

To learn more about the “First FDA approval:  combination therapy for rare childhood cancer, Neuroblastoma,” see:

• “Technology transfer’s important role in discovery-to-commercialization story of FDA-approved immunotherapy to treat rare childhood cancer”,
• “FDA Approves First Therapy for High-Risk Neuroblastoma,” “United Therapeutics Receives a Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher following the Approval of Unituxin for Pediatric High-Risk Neuroblastoma”

To learn more about “Development of First Immunotherapy to Treat Chordoma, Rare Bone Cancer,” see:

•  Phase 2 chordoma clinical trial, partner press release