Daniel P
- Research Program Mentor
PhD at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Expertise
Preparation for Pre-Med or STEM Undergraduate studies. Entrepreneurship and Business. Scientific Research. Data Science and Analytics.
Bio
I am a scientist and engineer with 17 years of experience in research. My education began at Johns Hopkins (BS Chemical Engineering, BS Chemical Engineering, MS Computer Science, MS Biotechnology, MS Bioinformatics), had a long stop at Indiana University (MBA, MS Finance, MS Business Analytics), touched at Stanford (Certificate in Biodesign) and ended at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (PhD Molecular Biophysics). My research has always involved both laboratory and computational techniques, and has included projects in cancer, heart disease, thrombosis, preeclampsia, and multiple sclerosis. I also have an interest in investing, and have worked at 2 venture capital companies focused on investing in biotechnology. Most recently I have been a research scientist developing software for biomedical research and working as a product manager for a medical device company. My interest in mentoring stems from my desire to encourage others to pursue careers in medicine, STEM, and entrepreneurship and to share my perspectives and experiences. I embrace the opportunity to work with both students who have a clear idea of their future career path as well as those who are excited about a larger array of possibilities. My past mentorship experiences have focused on fostering careers in medicine, STEM, and business and have included efforts to reach students from groups that are often underrepresented in these disciplines. My goal in mentorship is to create an environment that fosters creativity and enthusiasm and provides a rich intellectual experience for the students I work with.Project ideas
Advances in Medical Research Viewed from the Lens of a Future Physician, Scientist or Engineer
Advances in medical research are often multidisciplinary, involving contributions from researchers who were trained in different fields. This collaboration fosters new ideas at the intersection of medicine, science and engineering that can lead to novel therapies and treatments for disease. Students in this project will select a disease of interest and investigate its manifestation and clinical symptoms from the viewpoint of a physician, study its molecular origins from the viewpoint of a scientist, and consider the process to develop and commercialize a therapy from the viewpoint of an engineer. This perspective can help students to see where their own passions lie and foster thinking about the colleges, majors, and careers that are most appealing. Future premedical students will be able to think about the disciplines in which they may practice, and the diseases they will treat. Future scientists will see how molecular pathways and interactions are at the heart of both health and disease. Future Engineers will see how to bring therapies to the patient, and navigate the manufacturing, legal, and business considerations necessary to bring a product to market.
Bringing Science from the Laboratory Benchtop to the Patient's Bedside
The full lifecycle of bringing a new therapy to patients can last decades and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Students in this project will consider a recently developed medical technology and chart the pathway that would be required to get it to the patient’s bedside. Topics may include scientific discovery, the transfer of the technology from a university to a company, patent law, biomedical ethics, regulatory (FDA) processes, marketing, finance, research and development, and manufacturing. Student projects may take the form of a business plan that will outline the major events that would be necessary and challenges that will be overcome. The result will be that students will appreciate obstacles associated with drug and medical device development, and to see what future roles students are well suited for during the rest of their careers.
Investing in Novel Technology
The process of bringing a novel technology to patients or consumers often requires fundraising and financing in many stages. Starting from “seed” or “angel” rounds, followed by venture capital, crossover funding and eventually initial public offerings, each stages has its own unique benefits and challenges. Students will pick a promising technology in any industry, consider the costs associated with each stage of development, and estimate the capital the company would have to raise at each stage. Students will see the how landscape of early investors, venture capitalists, investment banks and other players specialize in these different fundraising stages to help business and entrepreneurs to succeed. The final project could be prospectus highlighting a technology to potential investors, or a business plan for a company at any stage.
Research: from Experiment to Publication
Academic research in the laboratory is challenging and requires careful planning and consideration to successfully test a scientist’s hypothesis. Students on this project will take few hypotheses (anything in science or engineering is fair game) they are interested in studying and describe the laboratory experiments and statistics that would be required to validate or disprove them. This project would be well suited for students that plan to participate in science and engineering fairs and will help students describe the introductory information, methods, results, and discussion content they will be writing. The final project could be a roadmap for future laboratory work, a paper highlighting a project that was completed, or a poster describing the significance of a scientific work. Student will see how the steps in the scientific method come together, and gain experience with experimental design and planning experiments that will serve them well in their education and future careers in research. Students will improve their awareness of experimental techniques that are often used in the lab in their field of study, and work to integrate their knowledge of science with experimental design.
Data Science in Business
The recent explosion in the quality and quantity of data that is available for business analysis has led for new opportunities for research. Students in this project will take economic data or pricing data from the markets (e.g. the price of the shares of stock from a company, or bond prices) and employ algorithms (potentially including machine learning / deep learning) to understand the data and predict the business or market's future behavior. Students in this project will gain a grasp on the kind of insight that data science can bring to business analysis and have a better understanding of business, economic, and stock price data.
Strategic Decision Making in Business
The project would include financial modeling and business data analysis learning how businesses make informed decisions and plan for the future. Financial modeling is a tool that helps predict the financial performance of a company based on various factors concerning their business environment. By analyzing business data — which involves scrutinizing numbers and trends from past and current business operations — you will develop insights that guide strategic decision-making. Whether you're looking at a small local business or a global corporation, these skills enable you to understand the financial underpinnings that drive success and sustainability in the business world. Students seeking career opportunities in finance, economics, or business would benefit from the emphasis on quantitative decision making.