Oysters, crab, shrimp, lobster and scallops were on the menu at this week’s Fish 2.0 South Atlantic & Gulf Coast Shellfish Workshop, hosted by University of North Carolina Wilmington at the university’s MARBIONC facility.

Fish 2.0, founded by executive director Monica Jain, uses a competition platform to connect seafood innovators, investors and industry experts so that promising ventures could find funding and knowledge resources.

It’s the first time the organization has extended its competition track into the Southeast U.S. and the first time it has conducted a workshop for the region to help entrepreneurs in the shellfish industry prepare to pitch their businesses to potential investors. Entrepreneurs with the strongest proposals, drawn from all regions, pitch to investors from around the world at a global competition next fall, according to Diane Durance, executive director of UNCW’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Durance is a veteran of Fish 2.0’s competition platform, having pitched her own project in Michigan in 2013. When she became head of the CIE in June, she realized there was no Fish 2.0 regional competition track in this part of the country, and set about to change that.

“I’ve had Fish 2.0 on my mind since 2013,” she said at the workshop opening Wednesday morning. “I knew we had a lot of strength in marine technology here. Attending the workshop increases participants’ ability to compete at the global event, which takes place at Stanford University in November.”

The inaugural workshop in Wilmington drew 21 participants from five states. The businesses seeking investor funding ranged from startup oyster farms to shellfish-centric software firms to researchers streamlining the process of diagnosing disease in shellfish populations.

Niels Lindquist of Morehead City is co-founder and CEO of Sandbar Oyster Co. Inc., which has invented a material that can be formed into various shapes and submerged to form an artificial substrate to which oysters can attach.

After trying out his pitch on the workshop audience Friday morning, Lindquist said the workshop had been helpful in understanding how to develop his appeal to investors.

“It gave me a better understanding of the investor side of the equation: what motivates them, what turns them off, and their limitations,” he said. “I also understand how to tailor a pitch to different investors.”

Deborah Keller, owner of Oyster Mom LLC in Oyster Bay, Florida, said the workshop helped her focus on what she wants to accomplish as she expands her business.

“I realize what I need to move forward. I need more tool sharpening,” she said.

Keller is more than an oyster farmer. She takes on apprentices who have disabilities and teaches them the business. Thus far she has trained a blind man and a disabled teenager the routines of growing and harvesting the in-demand bivalves.

“I want to be an oyster fisherman that trains new oyster fishermen,” she said. “There are so many people out there that need that kind of work, and that have the passion for that kind of work.”

Workshop participants spoke of the high demand for shellfish and the ways in which technology and automation can raise the productivity and sustainability of existing aquaculture operations, and make it easier for new ones to get started.

Jain, who moderated the wrap-up pitch session, said she expects more participants in the regional workshop next year. The first year’s competition in a region typically draws what she calls “early adopters,” while other entrepreneurs watch and see how things go.

“The first year in Seattle we had about 20 participants,” she said. “The second year, we had 70 applications in five days.”

Entrepreneurs with shellfish-related ventures located in the 12-state Southeastern U.S. region are encouraged to participate in Fish 2.0, Durance said. The deadline to apply is April 29. Click here for more information.

By Jenny Callison, posted March 17, 2017 on WilmingtonBiz.com
Copyright © 2017 SAJ Media, LLC dba Greater Wilmington Business Journal

Medidata, the leading global provider of cloudbased
solutions for clinical research in life sciences, and the University of North Carolina Wilmington have announced a new partnership to educate the next generation of clinical researchers.

“From the advent of new technologies and continuous data streams to increasingly complex trial design, this is a
time of tremendous opportunity for those of us at the intersection of medicine, science and technology,” said
Medidata’s president Glen de Vries. “We’re proud to partner with UNCW and help train the next generation of
clinical researchers as they prepare to join the life sciences industry and transform patients’ lives.”

As part of the three-year agreement, Medidata will provide UNCW with access to the Medidata Clinical Cloud® pro bono, equipping future leaders with the cutting edge technology and practical experience needed to excel in the field of clinical research and make a lasting impact on patient health. Beginning in the Fall 2016 semester, approximately 80 students enrolled in UNCW’s College of Health and Human Services’ Clinical Research program will be trained on Medidata’s platform annually.

UNCW students will use Medidata’s industry leading solution for electronic data capture, management and
reporting (Medidata Rave®) and Medidata’s eLearning platform, Medidata Academy. Using a mock study with fabricated patient data, students will learn to organize, collect, review, monitor and track data.

Similar to professional Clinical Research Associates (CRAs) at more than 700 life sciences companies who use
Medidata’s technology, the UNCW students will also leverage iMedidata®, a secure portal which provides unified access to all studies, eLearning courses and centralized user administration.

“This partnership will train UNCW clinical research students on some of the most advanced software available,
enabling them to experience how what they learn in their coursework applies to situations involving actual patients
and lab analysis,” said Kathy Browder, senior associate dean of the College of Health and Human Services. “The
practical experience they receive will help them as they seek employment in this rapidly growing field.”

The partnership expands UNCW’s commitment to advancing clinical research and economic development in North
Carolina. Last fall, the University received a grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to establish UNCW’s Clinical Research Workforce Development program, which includes curriculum enhancement, student fellowships and continuing education programs.

About UNCW
The University of North Carolina Wilmington, the state’s coastal university, is dedicated to learning through the
integration of teaching and mentoring with research and service. Guided by our strategic plan
(http://uncw.edu/strategicplan/index.html), the university is committed to nurturing a campus culture that reflects its values of diversity and globalization, ethics and integrity, and excellence and innovation. A public institution with more than 15,000 students, the university is focused on supporting and enhancing the student centered learning experience that has been a hallmark since its founding in 1947. UNCW offers an array of programs at the baccalaureate and master’s levels, and doctoral programs in marine biology, educational leadership, psychology and nursing practice.

About Medidata
Medidata (https://www.mdsol.com/en) is reinventing global drug development by creating the industry’s leading cloudbased solutions for clinical research. Through our advanced applications and intelligent data analytics, Medidata helps advance the scientific goals of life sciences customers worldwide, including more than 700 global pharmaceutical companies, innovative biotech, diagnostic and device firms, leading academic medical centers, and contract research organizations.

The Medidata Clinical Cloud® brings a new level of quality and efficiency to clinical trials that empower our
customers to make more informed decisions earlier and faster. Our unparalleled clinical trial data assets provide
deep insights that pave the way for future growth. The Medidata Clinical Cloud is the primary technology solution
powering clinical trials for 17 of the world’s top 25 global pharmaceutical companies, from study design and
planning through execution, management and reporting.

An effort to strengthen and expand Wilmington’s clinical research industry is making progress and is ahead of schedule, officials said Tuesday.

Under the umbrella of the N.C. Coast Clinical Research Initiative, a number of players are working to create a more cohesive CRO community and forge relationships among those businesses, University of North Carolina Wilmington and community partners. A central piece of the initiative is the expansion of an area workforce that can support growth in the CRO sector, according to Randall Johnson, executive director of the southeastern North Carolina office of the N.C. Biotechnology Center, one of the community partners.

Last September, UNCW received a $390,000 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation to develop such a workforce development program, with a significant investment from UNCW itself.

The grant required a cost share from the university, Kathy Browder, senior associate dean of UNCW’s College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) said Tuesday.

The program will focus on providing enhancement opportunities to existing employees in the CRO sector as well as attracting, educating and preparing the next generation of talent to the industry. Upgrades to the university’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship will make that space a convenient and productive place for industry, academic and community partners to meet and collaborate, Johnson said.

Ahead of an initiative leadership meeting later this month, Johnson discussed progress thus far on designing and implementing the workforce development program, which he said was ahead of the schedule UNCW originally submitted to the Duke Energy Foundation.

“We’ve been very aggressive in setting up the advisory council and [the council’s] action teams,” he said.

The advisory council is composed of CRO-related business leaders, Johnson, and representatives of CHHS and the mathematics and statistics department. Each of the council’s action teams is responsible for one aspect of the program, which involves:

• developing continuing education opportunities for current workers in biostatistics, statistical programming and clinical operations
• ensuring continuous improvement of current degree programs for undergraduates, with coursework and field work more directly related to job skills, as industry needs evolve
• providing advanced applied learning through a new fellowship program available to top students. An internship program related to the CRO industry already exists at UNCW.
• creating a collaborative workspace at the CIE to build connections between the industry and academia.

“[UNCW] chancellor [Jose] Sartarelli has been very supportive, and [CHHS dean] Charlie Hardy is extremely supportive as well. We have UNCW support at all levels,” Johnson said. “A portion of the initiative is focused on clinical, but it’s also focused on the more math-specific part of the industry that’s so important. We need the clinical side as well as statistical side. The math department has been key to our work.”

Browder said that some of the continuing education offerings, and possibly a pilot of the industry fellowship, should be up and running by the start of fall semester.

UNCW is eager to do anything it can, as an institution of higher education, to better position its students for success in the workforce, she added. This public-private partnership was such an opportunity.

“A public-private partnerships is not a new concept but it’s something we have not done as much as we might,” she said. “And this [CRO] industry really serves the region. It will become a niche area for us, to serve students better, position them better, and to serve the workforce [needs].”

Another component of the N.C. Coast Clinical Research Initiative is to update the Southeastern N.C. Clinical Research Industry Report, which contains an inventory of CRO firms operating in the area, along with the businesses that provide support services for them.

Although that update is not yet complete, Johnson said that there are currently 30 CROs that have a Wilmington area presence and about 40 support companies. Such companies range from medical writing and patient recruiting firms to CRO-specific software, data management and even human resources companies, he explained.

“There are more companies starting here or coming here,” Johnson said, adding that these businesses are looking to UNCW and the community in general to find the talent they need to grow.

By Jenny Callison, posted May 10, 2016 on WilmingtonBiz.com
Copyright © 2016 SAJ Media, LLC dba Greater Wilmington Business Journal