A Primer on Commercialization Postdocs

When you finish a Ph.D., it often feels like you’re standing at a professional fork in the road: stay in academia or go into industry. But what if the real opportunity lies not on either of those well-worn paths, but at their intersection?

That’s where commercialization postdoctoral programs come in—an option many early-career researchers don’t know exists but for which you may be ideally suited.

These programs provide the tools to turn your research into real-world impact. They explore how discoveries made in the lab can become products, services or systems that solve real problems. And they teach you how to think like an entrepreneur, even if you don’t plan to start your own company, which many postdocs find helps them become more competitive for faculty and industry roles.

If you’re curious about how your work could make a broader impact or simply what technology transfer, commercialization or innovation looks like from inside the university, this is your invitation to learn more.

What Are Commercialization Postdocs?

At a basic level, commercialization postdoc programs support Ph.D.s learning how to move research from discovery to application. These programs fall into two general categories:

1. Technology transfer fellowships train you to manage intellectual property (IP), evaluate market potential and support licensing processes.
2. Entrepreneurial and IP commercialization fellowships let you work hands-on with university-owned (or your own) innovations to develop them for real-world use.

Both paths expand your skill set well beyond most traditional academic training and do so in a way that positions you to lead innovation in any field or sector.

Why This Training Matters

Here’s a truth we don’t talk about enough—Ph.D.s are already practicing innovation.

You’re trained to identify gaps, solve problems and produce new knowledge. Commercialization programs help you understand how to apply those same skills in ways that create value beyond the lab or scholarly community.

Even if you don’t see yourself launching a start-up, learning to assess market needs, build relationships across disciplines and effectively communicate your research vision and unique value proposition can open doors to new kinds of funding, partnerships and diverse career prospects.

From Mindset to Practice: A Case Study in Entrepreneurial Thinking

In spring 2024, Virginia Tech worked with Archer Career to develop a program focused on helping postdocs adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. Through online modules and a full-day, in-person workshop, 19 postdocs from across multiple disciplines engaged in activities including:

• Crafting elevator pitches
• Identifying the innovative aspects of their research
• Mapping and mobilizing their personal and professional networks

Those that attended the program said they felt it filled a gap in their knowledge and appreciated hearing from current Ph.D. entrepreneurs and connecting with peers. They also realized they weren’t alone in their questions about research commercialization and start-up company creation, and that there was space for conversations about innovation that didn’t require giving up their scholarly identities. This event also demonstrated the need for more discussions about the value of an entrepreneurial mindset among academics.

Where Commercialization Postdoc Programs Live

While commercialization postdoc programs are still emerging, there’s a growing list of opportunities across the U.S. that support Ph.D.s building critical technology transfer and entrepreneurial skills.

Technology Transfer-Focused Programs

• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Technology Transfer Fellowship Program: Prepares postdocs for roles in licensing and patenting within the Institute.
• The National Cancer Institute’s Innovation and Negotiator Fellowships: Immerses fellows in IP management and commercialization of cancer technologies.
• Washington University in St. Louis—TL1 Translational Sciences Postdoctoral Program: Offers structured training in translational research, including exposure to commercialization pathways.

Entrepreneurial and Start-up–Oriented Programs

• Innovation Commercialization Fellows Program—Carnegie Mellon University: Current graduate and Ph.D. students, postdocs and research assistants at Carnegie Mellon apply to work on a start-up based on university research with a faculty member.
• ASPIRE to Innovate Postdoctoral Fellowship Program—Vanderbilt University: Current Ph.D. students studying biomedical sciences and postdocs affiliated with Vanderbilt School of Medicine apply to receive mentorship, training and networking opportunities to learn how to launch a company and to commercialize technologies discovered at Vanderbilt.
• Postdoctoral Entrepreneurship Program—University of Washington: This program gives strong preference to UW postdoctoral researchers or graduating Ph.D. students. It funds “commercially focused individuals” to work in UW labs on translational experiments to identify and obtain funding and to develop a business model.
• Presidential Postdoctoral Innovation Fellowship Program—Virginia Tech: This fellowship provides up to two years of support for Ph.D.s working to commercialize Virginia Tech intellectual property alongside a faculty mentor at the university.
• Ignite Fellow for New Ventures Program—Cornell University: The program aims to build new businesses, “grow entrepreneur scientists and engineers,” and “enrich Cornell’s venture ecosystem.” The program is open to graduating Ph.D.s or master’s students working with a faculty inventor to commercialize technology developed on a Cornell campus.
• Activate Fellowship: This program provides two years of support, including “funding, technical resources, and unparalleled support from a network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs.” The program accepts applications in the fall of each year, with the fellowship beginning in early summer the following year. Prospective fellows can apply to work in their local ecosystem or in hubs located across the U.S.:
  • Activate Berkeley (California)
  • Activate Boston
  • Activate Houston
  • Activate New York
• Runway Startup Postdoc Program—Cornell Tech: “Part business school, part research institution, and part startup incubator,” Runway is focused on digital technologies, and Startup Postdocs are provided with training, mentorship and other resources to support their growth as entrepreneurs. Startup Postdocs arrive with ideas that require time and specialized guidance to develop. The program accepts candidates from anywhere around the world.

Each of these programs offers something slightly different, but they share a common goal—to empower researchers to think beyond the bench and take an active role in translating ideas into action. The Activate Fellows and Runway program at Cornell Tech are especially unique, as they allow a Ph.D. to bring their own ideas with them. The Runway program, which to date has trained 55 postdocs, has also been featured in The Journal of Technology Transfer.

One advantage of participating in a commercialization-focused postdoc program is the access to resources that support your growth. Many programs are embedded in innovation ecosystems, such as tech transfer offices, legal support, start-up incubators and translational research centers. Some even offer seed funding or business mentorship to help you move a technology forward.

What’s Next? A Call to Action

If you’re a postdoc or advising one, you don’t need to have a ready-to-pitch product to benefit from this kind of training. You just need to be curious.

Ask yourself:

• What problems does my research help solve?
• Who beyond my field might care about this work?
• What skills could help me turn this into something people can use?
• What resources are available to me to learn more about commercializing research and entrepreneurship?
  • A great national resource is NSF’s I-Corps Program, which has regional hubs across the country.

Whether you want to start a company, work at the intersection of science and policy, or simply make your research more impactful, commercialization training can help you get there.

We also need to do more, collectively, to bring visibility to commercialization programs available to Ph.D.s. This includes:

• Raising awareness among graduate students and faculty mentors of the potential for impact and opportunities in commercialization.
• Encouraging institutions to embed innovation and entrepreneurship training into core professional development and strengthen their innovation ecosystem.
• Supporting peer communities that normalize entrepreneurial thinking in academia.
• Tracking and sharing outcomes from postdocs who go through these programs.

Most importantly, we need to keep reminding ourselves and our colleagues that commercialization and entrepreneurship isn’t a detour: It’s a destination that many Ph.D.s are uniquely equipped to reach.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to have a CEO title in your sights to benefit from entrepreneurial thinking. At its core, commercialization is about connecting your work to the world, and that’s something every researcher and scholar should know how to do. Whether through a fellowship, a campus workshop or self-guided exploration, now is a great time to start learning how your research can make a difference in the world.

And who knows? You might just discover that innovation is your next career frontier.