Meet Tina Thornton, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, co-director of I-Trep, a UVM-based biomedical entrepreneurship training initiative, and UVM faculty lead of the National Science Foundation Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub, which offers entrepreneurship training for student, postdoc, faculty, and other scientists and engineers.
Tina Thornton, Ph.D.
Immunobiologist Tina Thornton, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine, is co-director of I-Trep, a University of Vermont–based biomedical entrepreneurship training initiative, and UVM faculty lead of the Interior Northeast I-Corps Hub (IN I-Corps), which offers entrepreneurship training for student, postdoc, faculty, and other scientists and engineers. She was recently featured in an I-Corps Hub Instructor Spotlight in which she spoke about her experience guiding aspiring UVM entrepreneurs.
When asked what motivated her to become an I-Corps instructor, Thornton said, “I saw what an impact the quality application of the I-Corps methodology could have on early ventures. I was compelled to get involved and bring this to more folks in need.”
Her advice for new entrepreneurs? Get connected with an NSF-funded hub like the IN I-Corps Hub early on. “We will guide and support you to help you get the most out of the customer discovery process,” she says. “It requires time and commitment, but I have yet to see a more evidence-based way for innovators to get the data needed to move forward with confidence.”
The I-Trep program at the Larner College of Medicine, funded by NIGMS R25 GM116701, provides education and skill development in entrepreneurship in order to facilitate the generation and competitiveness of biomedical businesses and to foster economic growth.
IN I-Corps, funded and guided by the National Science Foundation, aims to expand the nation’s geography of innovation by developing a regional innovation network that serves as a repeatable, inclusive model of education and workforce training designed for and by innovators based in rural regions and small cities.