Meet executives of the NCI's SBIR program

Presentations are published below

Please see presentations from the meeting:

Overview_ Michael Weingarten

Tips on Applications_Todd Haim

Funding Opportunities_ Jennifer Shieh

NCI Experimental Therapeutics_NExT_ Michael Difilippantonio

On October 2, the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center and MassBio will host a forum to learn about funding opportunities being offered by the National Cancer Institute.

Michael Weingarten, Director, Todd Haim, Program Director, and Jennifer Shieh, AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow for SBIR Development Center will discuss new non-dilutive funding opportunities available for early-stage companies to develop the next generation of cancer technologies and therapeutics, as well as upcoming changes to the SBIR program. Michael Difilippantonio will provide an overview of the NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program that supports the most promising new drug discovery and development projects.

The Agenda for the day is as follows:

8 - 11:00 am: Breakfast briefing - Overview of Opportunities

Hosted at British Consulate-General Boston, Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), One Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142

8 - 8:30 am – Registration and Breakfast
8:30 - 9:15 - Overview of the NCI SBIR/STTR Program - Michael Weingarten, Director
9:15 -9:45 - Current Funding Opportunities - Jennifer Shieh AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow
9:45 - 10:30 -  Tips for Preparing a Competitive Application - Todd Haim, Program Director
10:30 - 11 pm - The NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program - Michael Difilippantonio

12 pm -4 pm: One-on-One Meetings with NCI Team

Hosted at Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC), One Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 - rooms TBD

Companies will have 20 minutes.

Number of One-on-One Meetings is limited. Please request a one-on-one meeting ASAP by e-mailing Michele Bernier at  mbernier@umassp.edu . Please specify in your email what sector of the life science industry your company is in and provide an executive summary or one-pager.

Briefing Summary:

During this session, NCI leaders will provide an update on new legislation that will increase the funding levels dedicated to small businesses and expand eligibility to those that are majority-owned by multiple venture capital operating companies, hedge funds, or private equity firms. The SBIR program helps fill the gap in the availability of early-stage funding created when investors and strategic partners move towards clinical-stage investments. SBIR funds serve as a key bridge between initial angel funding and more significant angel capital, venture capital, or strategic partnerships.

NExT mission

The mission of the NExT Program is to advance clinical practice and bring improved therapies to patients with cancer by supporting the most promising new drug discovery and development projects. The NExT Program is not a grant mechanism; applications with exceptional science cannot be accepted without a clear path to the clinic or potential benefit to patients. Awardees will not necessarily receive direct funding; rather, the NCI may allocate various contract and grant resources toward the implementation and development of submitted projects. The NCI will partner with successful applicants to facilitate the milestone-driven progression of new anticancer drugs (small molecules, biologics) and imaging agents towards clinical evaluation and registration.

Speakers' bio:

Michael Weingarten

Director, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Development Center, National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Michael Weingarten is the Director for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Development Center at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), one of 27 Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. In this role, Mr. Weingarten leads a team of nine Program Directors who manage all aspects of the NCI SBIR & STTR Programs, including a portfolio of over $115M in grants and contracts annually. The SBIR & STTR programs are NCI’s engine of innovation for developing and commercializing novel technologies and products to prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer.
In his current role, Mr. Weingarten has implemented a set of key initiatives for optimizing the performance of the NCI SBIR Program at the NIH. These include the establishment of a new model at the NCI for managing the program – the SBIR Development Center. This Center is staffed with talented leaders from both industry and the NIH who have expertise in the development and commercialization of technology in the cancer field to optimize the returns the NCI achieves through this program.

Todd Haim, PhD

Program Director, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Todd Haim is a Program Director at the NCI SBIR Development Center. Dr. Haim manages SBIR & STTR grants and contracts related to cancer therapeutics, prevention, and diagnostics. Additionally, Todd plays a key role in the planning, design, and leadership of several center initiatives, including the Investor Forum, evaluation efforts, targeted solicitations, and outreach activities. Prior to starting at the SBIR Development Center, he was a Research Associate and Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Haim staffed the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPUP) and his efforts centered on follow-up activities to the 2005 “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” report related to various innovation initiatives and evaluation programs. Previously, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Pfizer in which he actively led Pfizer’s research efforts in a collaboration with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis that illustrated a mechanism for altered cardiac contractility due to excess fatty acids. Dr. Haim graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in January 2007 with a PhD in biomedical research. He has received several prestigious awards and honors including the NJ Governor’s Award for Volunteerism in the Field of Health.

Jennifer Shieh, PhD

AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, SBIR Development Center, National Cancer Institute

Dr. Jennifer Shieh is an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the NCI SBIR Development Center, where she focuses on the implementation of SBIR/STTR legislation, the Investor Forum, evaluation efforts, and outreach activities. Before joining the SBIR Development Center, Dr. Shieh was a biology associate at Syapse, a Palo Alto-based startup that creates cloud-based software applications to accelerate biology-based research. She also assisted with design and business strategy at Subversus Interactive, a mobile games startup. As a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences, she developed public programs and aided the design of the new Life Lab exhibit at the Koshland Science Museum. Dr. Shieh studied brain and cognitive sciences at MIT, then earned her PhD in neurosciences at Stanford University. She is the co-author of the textbook Guide to Research Techniques in Neuroscience.

Michael J. Difilippantonio, Ph.D.
Program Manager for Therapeutic and Diagnostic Initiatives, Division of Cancer Treatment & Diagnosis (DCTD), National Cancer Institute
Dr. Michael Difilippantonio is a Program Manager within the Office of the Director in the NCI Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis. Dr. Difilippantonio is intimately involved in the establishment of operational and governance oversight of the NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program.  Additionally, he is responsible for overseeing the five ARRA-funded projects within the Functional Biology Consortium, managing space for the Division, serving as the Division representative on the NCI Health and Safety Committee and to the NCI Risk Assessment Program.  He also assists in tracking Division funding for extramural grants, NCI Experimental Therapeutics (NExT) Program projects, and SAIC-F laboratory efforts.
Dr. Difilippantonio earned his B.S. at the University of Connecticut in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a Certificate in Cytogenetics from the University of Connecticut School of Allied Health. He subsequently worked as a Clinical Cytogenetic Technologist in the laboratory of Dr. David C. Ward at Yale University in the early days of the Human Genome Project where he acquired proficiency in the emerging field of fluorescence in situ hybridization. He earned his Ph.D. in Genetics from Yale University under the mentorship of Dr. David G. Schatz. In 1998 Dr. Difilippantonio came to NIH first as a post-doctoral fellow, and in 2001 as a Staff Scientist, in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Ried where he continued to pursue his interests in colorectal cancer as well as the role of DNA damage repair in tumorigenesis. He received the NCI Division of Clinical Sciences Fellowship Advancement Award in 2000, was awarded the Aspen Cancer Conference Young Investigator Award in 2001 and has been recognized for his various contributions through receipt of an NCI Performance Award on numerous occassions. He was Co-Chair of the CCR-Staff Scientist/Staff Clinician Organization from 2005-2006, was the first elected Chair of the NIH-Staff Scientist/Staff Clinician Organization in 2009-2010, and served as the Staff Scientist representative on the NIH Assembly of Scientists (AOS) Council from 2007-2010. Dr. Difilippantonio has been an Associate Editor of the BMC open access journal Molecular Cancer since 2003.