At the University of Tennessee Health Science Center Campus in Memphis, students are learning real-world skills to succeed outside of academia in an innovative course, Strategic Entrepreneurship in Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Led by Todd Ponzio, Vice President of UTRF, and UTRF Staff Attorney James Parrett, this class is more than just another elective—it’s a game-changing step-up for PhD students looking to commercialize their research.
“A lot of graduate students wait until their final year to think about careers,” said Parrett. “The students in our course are thinking two or three years ahead. That’s the kind of mindset industry wants.”
The course, housed within the College of Graduate Health Sciences, addresses a mismatch between traditional academic training and real-world career paths.
“The majority of PhD students won’t go into academia, yet the education system still primarily trains them for it,” said Parrett. “We’re trying to plug that gap and give students the foundational skills they’ll need to succeed in industry, government, or the private sector.”
A Curriculum That Translates
Now in its second year, Ponzio and Parrett have expanded the course from two to three credits to provide deeper instruction for students seeking to translate their research into marketable innovations. Topics include intellectual property, FDA regulatory pathways, market analysis, and startup strategy—all taught with an eye toward real-world application.
“The goal isn’t to make them experts in everything in one semester,” said Parrett. “It’s to get them comfortable with the language of entrepreneurship and innovation, to help them start thinking in a way that industry values—outcomes-driven, project-based, and forward-looking.”
One of the most popular assignments is a Shark Tank-style pitch competition, in which students build hypothetical companies based on their research and pitch them to a panel. “It’s all about learning how to communicate value,” Ponzio explained. “How would you convince a venture capitalist to fund your work? That’s the mindset shift we’re aiming for.”
Ponzio and Parrett are currently exploring the idea of expanding the program into a certificate, potentially adding more classes and an externship component to deepen students’ experience.
“As AI and evolving regulatory landscapes continue to shape the biomedical world, we have to evolve with it,” said Ponzio. “This isn’t like teaching history. The content changes every semester. There was no ChatGPT three years ago, and now AI is integral to biotech and clinical trial design.”
Beyond the Classroom
The course is also a gateway to deeper engagement with UTRF, which serves as the UT System’s commercialization engine. Students who show promise can apply for internships like commercialization analysis roles that allow them to hone their skills in intellectual property, market validation, and technology transfer while still in school.
Though the course hasn’t yet produced an official startup, there are promising candidates, including a medical device for pediatric spinal correction. “It’s a great example of research being applied in a way that could actually change lives,” said Ponzio.
For Ponzio and Parrett, the personal reward comes not just from teaching concepts, but from watching students transform. “It’s watching someone who comes in completely green leave the course with a viable business plan and a sense of direction,” said Parrett. “They’re excited, they’re energized, and they’re starting to see their research not just as an academic exercise, but as something that can have real impact.”
In short, the course is doing what academia has long struggled to do—prepare students not just for research, but for relevance.