Michael Kline is the director of research translation within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.
Michael Kline recently joined OVCR from the Office of Technology Commercialization, where he served as director of outreach and technology development since 2015. In his new role, he will develop relationships with internal and external stakeholders and corporate partners to expand research sponsorships and partnerships to increase the translational pipeline at Carolina. Additionally, he will work with academic units, the Institute for Convergent Science, Innovate Carolina, and corporate partners to develop strategies and programs and with individual researchers to advance discoveries toward important translational inflection points.
UNC Research recently spoke to Kline about his new role and what’s to come for the translational pipeline at UNC.
Tell us a little about yourself and how you got involved in the advancement of research technology?
I am a basic researcher by training, with origins in biochemistry and molecular biology. Early in my career, I worked in the medical device industry supporting the development, launch, and on-market support of diagnostic and blood-screening products. What I enjoyed most was seeing research programs advance to have an impact on people, and this led me back to academic research in the field of hematology, and later, a career transition to supporting technology innovation at Mayo Clinic Ventures. Our group worked with the research community to advance interesting programs through funding and resources. I love science and medical technologies, especially those that impact people and society. Carolina has a plethora of brilliant minds solving important problems, and that is what brought me here.
How will this position strengthen OVCR’s ability to aid in the commercialization of research at UNC?
There are multiple facets of support already in place across Carolina to aid in the process of research translation, and we want to feed and utilize those outlets of support. By identifying internal and external resources and funding, and providing perspective from industry and potential investors, we can offer better support and input earlier in the research domain. This means ensuring that research programs with potential are equipped to be even more successful in developing solutions to unmet needs that can eventually be commercialized.
What are some areas of research that are most attractive for translation?
As an institution that is heavily involved in biomedical research, therapeutic development is an area that we continue to focus on. Programs like AdvanTx and the Pinnacle Hill partnership with Deerfield Management were created for the specific purpose of advancing translational research in this field, and there is considerable expertise in the laboratories here for the development of chemical matter. We also have strengths in several other areas including materials sciences, medical imaging, biomedical engineering, and data science, especially with our new School of Data Science and Society. There are many others as well. We are thinking about what areas will benefit most from support.
What are you most excited about in your new role?
We have such a wonderful research community at UNC. I enjoy the interactions and dialogue with researchers, my colleagues supporting these efforts, and external parties — all of which provide knowledge and perspective. I find great reward in helping these research programs advance whenever possible. There has never been a more exciting time for science, technology, and medicine.