Overview
The Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Science Entrepreneurship offers Harvard Business School (HBS) alumni and Harvard-affiliated postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to advance new ventures around promising life science technologies and develop their leadership talents during a 12-month fellowship year. This unique opportunity allows fellows to work closely with leading biotech industry and biomedical authorities, receive programmatic guidance and mentorship, and join a community of entrepreneurs shaping the future of science.
How to Apply
Ideal candidates are HBS alumni who have graduated within the last 7–10 years and Harvard-affiliated postdoctoral researchers within the first 5 years of their training program in a Harvard program or research lab. Postdocs can continue technical and commercial development of their existing scientific research during the fellowship year. Applications for the next cohort will open in early 2023.
Resources & Opportunities
$485M
in collective funding
Community
A network of over 90 business and life science leaders and 39 alumni Blavatnik Fellows can provide tactical and strategic guidance. Past fellows have created companies including devices, therapeutics, diagnostics, consumer health, and health IT and raised more than $485 million through angel investors, seed and funding rounds, seed, grants, and venture funding. An additional $244M was raised when a Blavatnik Fellow's venture went public.
Leadership
The Fellowship is led by executive fellow Peter Barrett, PhD and Tracy Perry, associate director. The members of the Key Advisory Board, leading industry and biomedical authorities, provide programmatic guidance as well as one-on-one mentorship to Blavatnik Fellows. The Health Care Leaders Network provides opportunities for developing industry contacts and networking in the Boston area through a variety of programs.
Professional Development
The program has hosted over 70 seminars with key industry experts. Workshop topics are based on Blavatnik Fellows’ current needs to build business acumen and executive leadership skills. Past topics include “Effectively Communicating to Win Financing,” “How to Lead as a First-Time CEO,” and “Building a Team in a Startup Culture.”
Industry Access
Fellows build a network of connections across the life science industry in various ways. They are matched with Key Advisory Board members who serve as their mentors throughout the program. In addition, Fellows attend industry conferences and events including the annual Harvard FUSION Symposium, cohosted by the Fellowship and the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator, which integrates perspectives from science and business to explore the promise of an emerging field, bringing together entrepreneurs, scientists, business leaders, investors, and innovators for a day of exploration and networking.