Research Career Perspectives at the Interface Between Academia and Industry

For graduate students and postdocs interested in research jobs between academia and industry.

Dr. Christian Tidona, the founder and managing director of the BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg, Germany, talked about his journey as a scientist entrepreneur. In his talk, he shared the three success factors for innovation and what you should be looking for as a future innovator or entrepreneur. Participants received first-hand advice on bridging the gap between academic biomedical research and successfully developing new therapies for the benefit of patients, as well as guidance on transitioning from academic research to building a pharma industry career or a startup company.

Presenter: Christian Tidona, PhD, is a biotech entrepreneur, business angel, and founder of the BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg, Germany. He studied molecular biology and received his doctoral degree in virology from the University of Heidelberg. Throughout his entire professional life, his focus was always to seed innovation at the interface between academia and industry. Christian is co-founder of BioRN, the cluster management organization at the center of one of the strongest biomedical innovation hubs in Europe, co-founder of the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine HI-STEM, member of the International Board of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and member of the Board of Directors of Yeda Research and Development, one of the world’s most renowned technology transfer organizations in Israel. Christian is married and father of two children.