Those outside of our industry often don't see the relationship between government-funded research and the development of life-saving cures for diseases and products that make a profound impact on people across the globe. As I have often said, we live in a bumper sticker world, and technology transfer always seems to have an essay. So how can you really show the meaningful impact of government-funded research on the lives of people everywhere without a lengthy dissertation? The AUTM “Put a Face on It” video project will help us do just that.
Through the
AUTM "Put a Face on It" video project we are inviting all of our members to pitch an idea for a 2-minute video that will feature the end user of a commercialized technology. This goes well beyond numbers and helps us, literally, put a face on technology transfer. Since this project was announced last week, we've already received several applications. So if you have a great idea for a video, please submit your application as soon as possible. To learn more or apply for this funding go to the
Put a Face on It page.
Videos illustrate the true impact of what we do by focusing on real people whose lives are changed. As an example, check out this one of
Army Sergeant Edward Bonfiglio who avoided amputation using an NIH funded nerve graft.
With your help in creating and disseminating AUTM Put a Face on It videos, combined with AUTM's marketing efforts and broad reach, we can touch many people who need to see the human side of what we do. We will demonstrate the importance of academic technology transfer in ensuring those discoveries are making their way into the market where they are making a difference in real people's lives.
Many thanks to James Zanewicz and his amazing taskforce for formalizing this effort. If you have questions about the project, contact Jodi Talley at AUTM headquarters at +1-847-559-0846 x 237 or at
jtalley@autm.net.
Sincerely,
Todd Sherer, Ph.D., CLP, RTTP
AUTM Immediate-Past President