Innovations for Substance Use Disorders (I4SUD): Entrepreneurship Education to Help Substance Use Disorder Scientists...

Area of Science:

• Translational science
• Entrepreneurship education
• Substance use disorders (SUDs)

Background:

• Substance use disorders (SUDs) present a significant public health challenge in the US.
• Translating scientific innovations into commercial products for SUDs faces major obstacles.
• There is a need for specialized training to bridge this gap.

Purpose of the Study:

• To educate SUD researchers on technology commercialization strategies.
• To enhance researchers' capacity to develop and implement effective SUD solutions.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel entrepreneurship program for SUD scientists.

Main Methods:

• A 7-week program, Innovations for SUD (I4SUD), was developed at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
• The program combined in-person sessions, online modules, synchronous discussions, and expert office hours.
• Evaluation included pre- and post-assessments of 100 participants across 3 cohorts and analysis of participant feedback.

Main Results:

• Participants demonstrated significant improvement in core commercialization learning objectives.
• Over 75% of participants were motivated to pursue additional funding post-program.
• Highly rated components included clinic site visits, unmet needs workshops, expert office hours, and pitch sessions.

Conclusions:

• The I4SUD program offers a successful model for entrepreneurship education tailored to SUD researchers.
• This model can be adapted for other scientific fields to accelerate innovation commercialization.
• Effective training can help translate SUD research into impactful market solutions.