Technology Commercialization Internship Program

Fall 2024

Program Highlights

Open to all Georgetown Univerisity graduates, master’s, and Ph.D. students, Post-Doctoral Fellows, and some extra capable and curious undergraduate students. Program participants will meet virtually weekly and occasionally in person, with assignments to be completed remotely. Interns will gain comprehensive exposure to the realm of technology commercialization, including:  

1. History and Purpose of Technology Commercialization 
2. Patenting, Intellectual Property Management, and Prior Art Searching 
3. Technology Evaluation 
4. Market Analysis, Competitive Landscape Research, and Marketing 
5. Start-up Creation and the Venture Creation Ecosystem 

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS: 
To participate, candidates must: 

  • Be currently enrolled in a graduate program, including law, MBA, Master’s, or Ph.D., or be a current Post-Doctoral Fellow. Undergraduate students will also be considered.
  • Possess a background in STEM, Law, or Business. 
  • Dedicate a minimum of 8 to 10 hours/week. 
  • We’re excited to welcome interns who can commit through, at least, the end of the fall semester, with a strong recommendation to continue through the spring semester, completing a rewarding 7-month experience from October to May.   
  • Have the ability to attend on-campus meetings and events as required.  

TO APPLY:  
To embark on this enriching journey, submit the following documents to Monita Tarazi (ma2254@georgetown.edu) and cc Zeinab Abouissa (zaa9@georgetown.edu) : 

📣 A Statement of Your Passion – Tell Us Why You’re the Chosen One! 

📜 Your Resume – A Glimpse of Your Journey So Far! 

IMPORTANT: 

  • Selected interns will be required to sign a confidentiality agreement with the University. 
  • This is an unpaid internship designed for knowledge enrichment and experience.
  • A certificate will be awarded upon program completion, and recommendations are available upon request. 
  • Selected interns must provide written and signed permission from their research or faculty advisor, as applicable. 

Elevate your career prospects and become a part of the innovation revolution. Seize this unique opportunity to explore the world of technology commercialization at one of the nation’s leading institutions. Your future starts here!

Timeline for Fall 2024
Internship Program Timeline  for Fall 2024Date
Program announcementSeptember 3, 2024
Application due by  September 18, 2024
Notification to those selected   September 23, 204
Start of the Internship Program  September 30, 2024
Are you an aspiring intern looking for exciting opportunities?
Feel free to contact us at techlicensing@georgetown.edu or call us at 202-687-7424 for more information about our upcoming enrollment opportunities. We’re here to answer your questions and help you take the next step in your career journey!

Our Interns

Austin Cherian

Email: azc10@georgetown.edu
Austin Cherian is a Master’s student in Health Informatics and Data Science at Georgetown University, following his undergraduate in Quantitative Science with a concentration in Biology from Emory University. With a background in healthcare, Austin joined the program to deepen his understanding of technology commercialization and the transfer processes involved in healthcare startups.
Equipped with expertise in data analysis and a strong foundation in the healthcare sector, Austin aspires to launch his own healthcare venture in the future. He is passionate about leveraging data-driven insights to innovate solutions that enhance patient care and improve health outcomes.

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Brenden McDearmon

Email: bm1176@georgetown.edu
Brenden is an MBA candidate at Georgetown University in the class of 2026. As an experienced product development chemist and registered patent agent, Brenden seeks to collaborate with, and contribute to, Georgetown’s entrepreneurship community and science-based startups. 

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Julee Suh

Email: js5441@georgetown.edu
Julee Suh is a 2023 graduate of Columbia University, where she earned her BA in Psychology/Neuroscience with a pre-med focus. She is currently pursuing an M.S. in Systems Medicine. She learned computer coding languages in Python and R through her experience at the Neuroimaging Center at Columbia University’s Zuckerman Brain Institute. Julee applied these skills to emerging technologies in medical AI at the Department of Radiology at Seoul National University Hospital and at Samsung Medical Center’s Institute of Future Medicine, both located in Seoul, South Korea. As Samsung Medical Center is a subsidiary of Samsung, she had the opportunity to connect with the Office of Technology Licensing and Transfer, which sparked her interest in Intellectual Property and technology transfer.
As she delved deeper, Julee noticed that proper patent legislation had not yet been established for computational medicine and related innovations. Recognizing that these tools will be used in healthcare, she believes it is crucial to improve patent strategies for more trustworthy studies that are replicable, reproducible, and explainable. Through this internship program, Julee aims to learn about patent strategies and apply or create new ones for the future of medicine to advocate for patient safety.

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Michael Simms

Email: mas347@georgetown.edu
Michael A. Simms, Jr. is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Science from GHUCCTS (The Georgetown-Howard Universities Center for Clinical and Translational Science). Especially since completing his Master of Science degree from Georgetown University in Aging and Health (2019), he has been especially keen on finding innovations to improve the quality of life for older adults. He is thrilled to join the OTC internship in the fall of 2024.

Shang (Sean) Lyu

Email: sl2287@georgetown.edu
Sean is a first-year master’s student at Georgetown’s CCT program. He received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and communication with a concentration in Finance and Marketing from Northeastern University. Prior to CCT, Sean spent six months as a research assistant at Harvard CBDB Database doing database design.
During this time, he attended the International Digital Humanity Conference in Berlin that surveyed the current state of digital scholarship. 
Sean is passionate about technology diffusion and tech policy. His research interest lies in finding the social impact of technological innovations. Sean hopes to deepen his understanding of technology transfer and innovation management and apply the knowledge he learned through the OTC internship program to bridge gaps between research institutions and industry.

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Tessa Knox

Email: tjk95@georgetown.edu
Tessa has a diverse background in biological sciences and chemistry. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a Masters in Toxicology at the University of Florida.
Last year Tessa completed her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences at George Washington University. Tessa has spent many years in molecular biology and immunology laboratories working to improve clinically available immunotherapies for cancer by exploring the use of novel small molecule inhibitors. Currently, Tessa is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Neuroscience in the laboratory of Dr. Italo Mocchetti where her work focuses on understanding the expression and physiological role of the receptor GPR75 in the brain. Tessa joined the OTC internship program in order to gain a better understanding of the patent process, IP management, and bringing scientific innovation to the broader public.

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Sarada Giridharan

Email: sg1817@georgetown.edu
Sarada Giridharan is pursuing a Master of Science in Bioinformatics at Georgetown University, building on a strong foundation in Biotechnology from her undergraduate studies. At NGSF (Next Gen Scientists Foundation), she led a team of 8, significantly expanding the organization’s outreach and managing core operations. Her bioinformatics expertise spans projects in metagenomic analysis of WGS NGS data and biomarker identification for lung adenocarcinoma patients. Passionate about the intersection of science and business, Sarada sees bioinformatics and biotechnology as the next frontier of innovation and is driven to lead advancements in this evolving industry.  

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Wenru Tian

Email: wt271@georgetown.edu
Wenru Tian, a Master of Arts candidate in Communication, Culture, and Technology at Georgetown University, specializes in leveraging digital technologies to enhance business communications and market strategies. Before pursuing her master’s degree, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Pure and Applied Math and a Bachelor of Management in Business Administration from Tsinghua University. During her time at Georgetown, Wenru has been deeply involved in international business, marketing communication, and brand innovation, focusing on market research to facilitate startup creation within the tech venture ecosystem.

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Taoran Li

Email: tl924@georgetown.edu
Taoran Li is currently a graduate student pursuing a Master of Science in Biotechnology at Georgetown University, focusing on the Cell and Gene Therapy track. She started her summer internship with the Office of Technology Commercialization in June 2024. Her background is rooted in Genetics. In addition to her scientific background, she also holds a minor in Psychology, which has equipped her with valuable insights into human behavior and cognitive processes. With her keen interest in entrepreneurship, she joined this program to gain knowledge in both IP and marketing, and to contribute to advancing innovative technologies.

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Former Interns

Amber Alley

Email: ara109@georgetown.edu
Amber Alley received her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the College of the Holy Cross. After completing her M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology – Bioinformatics from Georgetown University and working in the lab of Dr. Habtom Ressom, she was able to use her bioinformatics skills at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease’s (NIAID) Vaccine Research Center (VRC). Here, she was inspired by the collaboration between science and industry to address the COVID-19 pandemic. She is pursuing her PhD in Tumor Biology at Georgetown in the lab of Dr. Anton Wellstein and she hopes to learn more about the patenting of scientific research via the OTC internship program.

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Reem Aljuhani

Email: ra1091@georgetown.edu
Reem is a fourth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Clinical and Translational Glycoscience Research Center at Georgetown University, working in Dr. Radoslav Goldman’s lab. She earned a Master of Science in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology program. During her master’s, she focused on the role of ELK1 in T-LAK cell-originated protein kinase (TOPK)-mediated malignancy in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Currently, she is investigating the regulation and enzyme kinetics of Extracellular Heparan 6-O-Endosulfatases (SULFs) in head and neck cancers. Her deep interest in biochemistry, proteomics, and glycobiology has driven her academic and research pursuits, aiming to gain novel insights and identify potential therapeutic targets. She joined the Office of Technology Commercialization as an intern to enhance her understanding of the commercialization process and contribute to the successful transition of innovative technologies from the lab to the market. With her extensive background in molecular biology and cancer research, she aims to bring biotech and life sciences innovations to the marketplace, fostering a closer connection between science and business.

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Tanmaya Madhvacharyula

Email: tmadhva@jh.edu
Tanmaya Madhvacharyula is a Master’s student in Biotechnology at Johns Hopkins University, engaged in glioblastoma research in the Neuro-Oncology lab at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her work focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms of glioblastoma to develop innovative therapeutic strategies. Tanmaya is particularly interested in the business side of biotechnology, including technology commercialization and transfer. She is committed to ensuring that scientific breakthroughs are not confined to the laboratory but are effectively translated into practical solutions with significant translational impact. She aims to leverage her scientific background to help drive the successful commercialization of biotechnological innovations and facilitate their seamless transfer from the lab to the market, ultimately improving patient outcomes and quality of life.

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Oluwamuyiwa Peters

Email: josephpeters59@gmail.com
Oluwamuyiwa Peters is a second-year Juris Doctor candidate at Howard University School of Law, holding a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural & Applied Economics from Texas Tech University. With a diverse background in technology and accelerator environments, encompassing roles in Customer Success, Start-up Studio Analyst, and Community Management Internships, Muyiwa aims to specialize in tech transactions post-bar admission. Beyond his academic and professional endeavors, he enjoys playing basketball, running, and exploring art and world history museums.

Lyndon Rolle

Email: lgr44@georgetown.edu
Lyndon is currently a first-year student in the MD program at Georgetown University. Prior to his studies at Georgetown, Lyndon ventured to Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee for his undergraduate degree. His undergraduate research centered around wet and dry lab-based methods in Neurogenetics and translational Cardiovascular genetics at his home institution, as well as UCLA and Vanderbilt University in collaboration with the American Heart Association – as an AHA HBCU Scholar. In 2020, he graduated with honors, earning a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. At Georgetown, Lyndon is involved with several organizations including the Student National Medical Association, Black Men in White Coats, and the International Medical Student Association. He has also contributed to qualitative studies on the environment, wellness, and sustainable health behaviors and looks to promote such practices throughout his career. Building on these prior experiences, Lyndon aims to bridge gaps and streamline the pathways integrating research, technology, and medicine with broader society. Whenever outside the office, Lyndon enjoys traveling, playing billiards with friends, and spending time in the kitchen  —  exploring the world through cooking.

Jehan Vuai

Email: jav112@georgetown.edu
Jehan Vuai is a master’s student at Georgetown University, specializing in biotechnology with a concentration on the business and entrepreneurial aspects of the field. Before pursuing her graduate studies, Jehan gained valuable experience as a medical laboratory scientist, where she applied her expertise in clinical diagnostics and laboratory operations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in medical laboratory sciences from George Mason University, where she developed a solid foundation in laboratory techniques and healthcare practices.
Jehan’s unique combination of scientific knowledge and business acumen positions her to bridge the gap between innovative biotechnology and its practical applications in the healthcare industry. Her career aspirations are driven by a passion for leveraging biotechnology to improve patient care and streamline healthcare solutions through effective business strategies.

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Henry Ware

Email: hdw16@georgetown.edu
Henry Ware will be matriculating at the MS in Biotechnology program at Georgetown in the fall of 2024 and is a recent finance graduate from Southern Adventist University.  He hopes to work at the intersection of finance and the life science industry. Henry is excited to learn more about the tech transfer ecosystem at Georgetown and looks forward to continuing learning during his internship and in the future.

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Zihui Zeng (Cathy)

Email: zz466@georgetown.edu
Zihui, Cathy, received her BS degree in Physics with minors in Nanotechnology and Economics from Union College (NY). Before joining the Physics Ph.D. program at Georgetown in 2022, she also studied in an MSc. Program of Computational Finance at University College London, U.K. She also gained exposure to the finance industry by interning at PE/VC, and securities firms. Recently, she joined Prof. Kai Liu’s group, and her project focused on nanomagnetism.

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Giselle Burton Sojo

Email: gcb81@georgetown.edu
Giselle Burton Sojo received her Bachelor’s degree in Biological Science from the University of California, Irvine, before entering Georgetown University as a PhD student in the Tumor Biology program in July 2022. In addition to being a recipient of the Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) fellowship, she has begun her thesis research in the lab of Dr. Anton Wellstein, studying the impact of cellular senescence on the tumor microenvironment, stromal compartments, and immune profile in breast cancer progression. Giselle is interested in understanding the potential to expand the knowledge and skill set acquired during a Ph.D. to business and intellectual property management through the OTC internship program.

Ranju Ravindranath

Email: rr1218@georgetown.edu
Ranju Ravindranath is a highly accomplished professional with a Bachelor of Honors in Biosciences and a Master’s in Biotechnology. With a strong academic background from SSSIHL, India, and SVU India, she excelled in enzymatic analysis research. Having worked as a Content Reviewer and Validator at ‘Individual Learning Pvt. Ltd.,’ an educational technology start-up, Ranju is currently pursuing a Master’s in Biotechnology (Biobusiness track) at Georgetown University. Passionate about technology commercialization, she aspires to contribute in Marketing, Managerial, or Consulting roles, showcasing her commitment to continuous learning and growth in the field.

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Joshua Wolfe

Email: jtw99@georgetown.edu
Joshua Wolfe is an MBA student at the Georgetown McDonough School of Business, focusing on entrepreneurship and strategy. Prior to his arrival at Georgetown, he held various positions at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, where he oversaw and conducted applied biological science on US Government contracts for sponsors in the Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, and the Intelligence Community. He holds a Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Virginia and hopes to work in the biotechnology industry upon graduation. Outside Georgetown, he enjoys cooking, fantasy football, and his three boys.

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Chelsey (Xinyue) Li

Email: xl745@georgetown.edu
Chelsey is a first-year graduate student in the Communication, Culture, and Technology (CCT) program at Georgetown’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. She studied Economics and Statistics at UW-Madison, and worked as a programmer for one year. She enjoys quantitative social science and aspires to amplify its impact with a career in the fintech industry.
 

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Christon Hill

Email: ch1447@georgetown.edu
Christon Hill is a current graduate student in the Biotechnology (Individualized track) Master’s program at Georgetown University. He studied English and Religion at Florida State University and Biology at the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. His undergraduate research was focused on the impacts of Nuclear Factor Y on the protein content of grain plants. He served in the military and was trained as an EMT. He’s currently an intern at the Office of Technology Commercialization, steering his career towards marketing and bringing biotech and life sciences innovations to market. Christon is well-positioned to propel innovation and connect the realms of science and business.

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Prerna Singh

Email: ps1277@georgetown.edu
Before joining the PhD program in Tumor Biology at Georgetown University, I completed my masters in cellular and molecular biomedical sciences at University of Maryland, Baltimore. My research is currently on Wnt signaling in colorectal cancer. Previously during my masters I worked on a novel therapy combining hyperthermia with proton radiation to treat chordoma. I also worked on acute myeloid leukemia as a research assistant shortly before joining my PhD program. 

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Reniel Suarez Gonzalez

Email: rs2194@georgetown.edu
Reniel Suarez Gonzalez is a dynamic second-year Pharmacology PhD student at Georgetown University, where he is passionately immersed in advancing scientific knowledge and innovation. He earned his Master of Science in Pharmacology and Toxicology from The State University of New York at Buffalo in 2022. Before embarking on his PhD journey, Reniel served as a clinical research coordinator orchestrating phase II-III clinical trials. In 2023, he joined the Office of Technology and Commercialization (OTC) at Georgetown. His commitment lies in ensuring that developments are not confined to the laboratory but are, instead, transferred seamlessly to a wider range of users by facilitating technology transfer.

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Eric Witherspoon

Email: ejw68@georgetown.edu
Eric graduated from Morehouse College with a B.S. in Biology in 2017. During his undergraduate tenure, his research project focused on examining the effects of fumaric acid (FA) on dopaminergic neurodegeneration in a Parkinson’s Disease mouse model. Following graduation, Eric participated in a postbaccalaureate research program where his project consisted of using a combination of molecular techniques to characterize acetylcholinesterase (ACHE) levels in rodent subjects previously tested for fear extinction. Eric started his PhD at Georgetown University in 2018 and has several ongoing projects. He is currently examining the toxicity profiles of novel anti-seizure medications (ASMs) on brain development, and his doctoral thesis investigates the underlying mechanisms of how early-life inflammation influences anti-seizure medication associated toxicities. Eric has been interning in the Office of Technology Commercialization since 2021 and his career interests are aligned with safeguarding intellectual property rights in life sciences and biotechnology related fields. 

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James Jabara

Email: james.j.jabara@gmail.com
James Jabara is an undergraduate student at Cornell University, majoring in chemistry and biology, with a minor in business. His research background includes drug discovery, neurosurgery, and neuropharmacology. James intends to explore and innovate within the intersection between scientific research and entrepreneurship. He started his internship with the OTC in June of 2023. 

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Joos Berghausen

Email: jhb109@georgetown.edu
Joos Berghausen graduated from the University of Freiburg in Germany in 2019
with a degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences. After graduation, Joos participated in a post-baccalaureate program at the National Institutes of Health. He worked
as part of the Genomic Technology Group, researching genetic risk factors
associated with Parkinson’s Disease using genotyping technologies and
bioinformatic approaches. In 2021, Joos started his Ph.D. at Georgetown
University and joined Dr. Brelidze’s lab. His current project focuses on several
modulators of the voltage-gated potassium channel (hEAG1) and characterizing
their potential as cancer therapeutics.

Luxi Yang

Email: ly272@georgetown.edu
Luxi is a second-year graduate student in the Communication, Culture, and Technology (CCT) program. Her research interests revolve around statistics and market analysis, as well as the intricate connections between technology and the process of commercialization. She is dedicated to building bridges between these areas of study, aiming to shed light on the interplay between technology and the commercialization process, ultimately contributing to a deeper understanding of these crucial aspects of the modern world. 

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Samuel Allsup

Email: sha84@georgetown.edu
Samuel Allsup started a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Georgetown in August 2022 and has a bachelor’s degree in Human Physiology from the University of Colorado Boulder. His research background includes molecular neurogenetics and biochemistry. Currently, he is working in a cancer biology lab, focusing on immunoregulatory factors in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer (HGSOC). Samuel is interested in experiencing the business and legal side of scientific research alongside his lab work and started his internship with the OTC in June of 2023. 

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Tapasya Katta

Email: tk940@georgetown.edu
Tapasya Katta graduated from SRIHER in India with a BSc (Hons) degree in Biomedical Sciences in 2021. Her undergraduate thesis was focused on a simple method for the detection of Begomoviruses in Phaseolus lunatus. Post-undergraduate, she worked as a Research and analytics associate at a Startup company in India, that was dedicated to developing a one-stop user-friendly platform for cancer patients and their caregivers with useful resources and information to get access to the right treatment. Currently pursuing an MS in Biotechnology (BioBusiness) at Georgetown University, she’s interning at the Office of Technology Commercialization, aligning her career with marketing and commercializing biotech and life sciences inventions. Tapasya is poised to drive innovation and bridge science with business. 

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