UMass Lowell Innovative Fellows Training (UMass LIFT)

The UMass LIFT (Lowell Innovative Fellows Training) Program, based upon the highly successful UML IMPACT accelerator will be a comprehensive part-time, once per week, semester-long entrepreneurial skills education program run twice per year, focusing on non- research innovation and entrepreneurship, and targeting innovative researchers in the aging and/or Alzheimer’s disease domains. Together with appropriate UMass Chan clinicians with expertise in the aging and/or Alzheimer’s disease domains, UML Manning School of Business faculty, UML Francis College of Engineering faculty, UML Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences faculty, key ecosystem opinion leaders, subject matter experts and relevant industry partners already in our network, the UMass LIFT Program will promote entrepreneurial skills development by providing the education, strategy training and resources to enable researchers to identify and access new career opportunities in the business and industry segments. LIFT will provide valuable training and career development for these biomedical researcher fellows, will expand the Alzheimer’s research workforce and will advance Alzheimer’s diagnostic and therapeutic development. Specifically, the UMass LIFT program will train rising innovative Alzheimer’s Disease focused researchers in biomedical entrepreneurship and drug development. Through formal mentorship from the UMass team, as well as others sourced from our corporate sponsors and vast network, and by engaging with real business opportunities, the program Fellows will create their own development plans and will gain and refine skills in due diligence, preclinical development, intellectual property, financing, competitive analysis and scientific communication. By the end of the program, UMass LIFT fellows will have completed due diligence on a number of diagnostics and therapeutics related to Alzheimer’s Disease and will have completed a pre- clinical to clinical development plan for the top projects. Fellows will also receive the additional benefit of individualized training and will present it to a team comprised of UMass experts and their industry and subject matter expert and investor partners for potential licensing, engagement and investment opportunities.