Advanced Graduate Certificate in Life Sciences Innovation- LiSIE AGC Program
From the lab to leadership What will you do with your hard-earned degree?
For biotechnology and other science based enterprises to flourish, they need trained
professionals with rigorous training in science. They also need people who understand
the business of commercializing a technology into a product. The Life Sciences Innovation
and Entrepreneurship (LiSIE) Program combines both to help build the biotechnology
workforce of tomorrow. It gives you the option of using your skills at the lab bench
or helping to lead a company.
You will earn an Advanced Graduate Certificate (AGC) by completing four courses: 2 form a mini-MBA core, and 2 are electives aligned with
your science background. For core courses, one course must be BME 509, BUS 510 or
BME 511.For elective courses, there are nearly 50 electives to choose from in (i.) Biomedical
Sciences, (ii.) Data Science & Computational Biology, (iii.) Ecological and Marine
Sciences, (iv.) Engineering, (v.) Healthcare, and (vi.) Management. Many graduate
students are already halfway along to gaining the AGC.
Core Courses [Choose and complete 2 courses for 6 credits, one course must be BME 509, BUS 510
or BME 511]
A broad introduction to the bioscience business environment by examining through project-based
learning the commercialization process of how an idea becomes a product. Student groups
are given actual intellectual property disclosures to learn the process of due diligence
for analyzing opportunities/challenges of technologies. They then create a hypothetical
company and present their analyses in an investor-like pitch session at the end of
the term. Recommended to be taken after BUS 510 and/or concurrently with BME 511.
[Spring]
Startups and early stage enterprises are not smaller versions of large companies.
Rather, they are teams turning a business plan into a viable company. In this course,
students learn about the financial and human capital needed for growing successful
science based technology companies, with a focus on biotech. Traditional valuations
don’t apply to capital-intense technology, therefore the specific methods for this
sector are explored. No matter how good a technology may be, an enterprise cannot
scale without the right people, thus the course explores factors CXOs consider in
forming the best teams and what the need to do at different stages of an enterprise.
Course materials include a textbook, supplementary readings, and case studies. No
prerequisite. [Fall]
This course introduces students to the commercialization process – how an idea becomes
a product – by focusing on how a technology fits into a commercial market. This includes
intellectual property, evolving business models, product development cycles, regulatory
issues, and more. It focuses on critical analysis of the technology (e.g., evaluating
the problem it solves, underlying science, innovation, ownership, product development,
feasibility) and the markets it will compete in (market pain, market size, barriers
to entry, competition). No prerequisite. [Spring]
Innovation drives the modern firm by the interaction of technical invention and managerial
entrepreneurship. This course explores the variety of sources of new products, processes,
and services, such as inventors, universities, research and development departments
in industry, and government labs. In addition, the course explores the variety of
ways of bringing new products, processes, and services to market, including startup
firms, acquisitions, mergers, and entrepreneurship within the firm. Case studies showing
the interaction of invention and entrepreneurship are analyzed. A term project is
required in which the student either analyzes the history of invention and entrepreneurship
in a major firm or writes a business plan for high technology startup firm.
This course helps the student develop a business plan for his or her own business
idea or a plan for an entrepreneur. With the support of visiting practitioners, students
take a business idea through all the planning steps. A business plan suitable for
presentation to potential investors will be written and presented orally at the end
of the class.
Students explore the concept of social entrepreneurship including motivation and skills
for advocacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership. Topics include forms of social entrepreneurship
(private, public, and not-for-profit), venture capital and fund raising, market analysis,
marketing, communications, human resources and human relations, including negotiation
and conflict resolution methods. Students will explore models of corporate social
responsibility, university service to the community, and grass-roots ventures spawned
by perceived need and the will to make a difference. Students work in teams to develop
a strategic business plan for their own venture and present their proposals to the class.
Electives Choose 2 courses for 6 credits, under advisement from the certificate Director, from
the following areas:
• BGE 510: Graduate Genetics • BGE 657: Principles of Development • BNB 561: Introduction to Neuroscience 1 • BNB 562: Introduction to Neuroscience 2 • BNB/HBH 655: Neuropharmacology • HBH 501: Principles of Pharmacology • HBH 550: Statistics in Life Sciences • HBH 631: Graduate Pharmacology I • HBH 632: Graduate Pharmacology II • HBM/MCB 503: Molecular Genetics • HBM 522: Biology of Cancer • HBP 533: Immunology • HBY 501: Physiology • HBY 530: Cellular Physiology and Biophysics • HBY 554: Principles of Neuroscience • MCB 520: Graduate Biochemistry • MCB 656: Cell Biology • NEU 534: Principles of Neurobiology • NEU 536: Introduction to Computational Neuroscience
• BMI 501: Introduction to Biomedical Informatics • BMI 511: Translational Bioinformatics • BSB 512: Clinical Informatics • CHE/AMS 535: Introduction to Computational Structural Biology and Drug Design • CHE/AMS 536: Molecular Modeling of Biological Molecules • CSE/AMS 549: Computational Biology
• BEE 520: Advanced Human Genetics • BEE 521: Genomics Lab • BEE 562: Concepts and Methods in Evolutionary Biology • MAR 502: Biological Oceanography • MAR 507: Marine Conservation
• BME 501: Engineering Principles in Cell Biology • BME 502: Advanced Numerical & Computation Analysis Applied to Biological Systems • BME 510: Biomechanics • BME 670: Special Topics in Biomedical Engineering • CHE 541: Biomolecular Structure and Analysis • CHE 542: Chemical Biology • CHE 543: Chemical Approaches to Biology • CHE 559: Biological Dynamics and Networks • CIV 526: Environmental Biotechnology
• HBH 505: Pharmacology to Pharmacy: Practical Clinical Aspects for Non-Clinicians • HBP 511: Pathobiology for Graduate Health Care Practitioners • HHA 500: Health Care Delivery Systems • HHA 502: Health Information Systems and HIT Essentials • HPA 527: Health Economics and Policy • HPA 585: Introduction to Biostatistics & Epidemiology
• EST 519: Systems Engineering Management • EST 600: Technology, Policy, and Innovation: Theory and Practice • BUS 567: Intellectual Property Strategy • MBA 506: Leadership, Team Effectiveness and Communications • MBA 511: Technological Innovations • MBA 512: Business Strategy • MBA 570: Entrepreneurship • MCR 630: Technology Transfer • COM 565: Foundations of Science Communication
Enrollment Information To enroll in the LiSIE AGC program you will need to be a current SBU student with
Graduate Student standing. Typically, this means you have already been accepted a
PhD program, a Masters program, or an accelerated Bachelor’s/Masters program. You should first contact the LiSIE program bme_lsi_agc@stonybrook.eduto review your current course of study, determine which courses can be applied to
your specific case, and how to proceed.
The LiSIE program is a collaboration between the SBU Center for Biotechnology, the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the College of Business.
