The essence of both biotechnology and commerce carries the potential for positive societal transformation. With the new Biotechnology Track being offered in McIntire’s M.S. in Commerce, students with life science backgrounds will gain business skills and emerge ready to excel in areas where the two fields convene. The new area of focus at the McIntire School is the result of a generous $5 million gift from The Chris and Carrie Shumway Foundation and a $3.5 million match from the University’s Strategic Investment Fund to fund faculty teaching in programs at the intersection of business and bioscience.
Biotechnology Track Director Nikki Hastings discovered the importance of being fluent in both areas firsthand. A graduate of the University’s Biomedical Engineering PhD program, her experiences immediately after the completion of her studies proved critical.
“I was taught the business side of building biotech companies through incredible mentors from the business world while working at HemoShear Therapeutics,” she says, recalling how she recognized her lack of business knowledge and found herself fortunate to be in an environment where she could learn. She credits the mentorship she received and the spirit of entrepreneurship that defined the Charlottesville-based drug development startup with helping her to find her passions—right at the intersection of business and science.