Lefteroff Program with Alumni - Fogarty Innovation

Background

The Lefteroff Internship was formed in 2013 in memory of the late Tracy Lefteroff, a former Fogarty Innovation board member and global managing partner at PwC. Tracy was an influential leader in venture capital-funded life sciences companies and was widely regarded for his perspectives on the industry. His commitment to mentoring and educating the next generation of students, entrepreneurs and innovators in life sciences is carried on through this program.

In fact, Fogarty Innovation believes in education that lasts a lifetime. That’s why we have designed the Lefteroff summer internship program for college students. We want to pique their interest in the healthcare industry and provide valuable on-the-job experience for young people who are just starting to explore career options.

Each summer we host U.S. and international students, and introduce them to the extraordinary world of medical technology. Our hands-on program offers students the opportunity to shadow and work on projects with our startups and medical technology partners, learn from the best in the industry through our mentorship program, and receive guidance from industry experts on their best career paths and choices.

The exposure gained from interacting and learning from inventors, physicians, engineers, business strategy and marketing experts, clinical and regulatory consultants, fundraising and operations experts, lawyers, investors, and other professionals, offer our interns invaluable knowledge and experience that helps shape their future career decisions.

The Lefteroff Internship was founded by PwC, Fogarty Innovation (FI) and the California Healthcare Institute.

Program Goals

The goal of the Lefteroff Internship is to honor Tracy’s legacy by providing college students real-world, hands-on experience and mentoring that will inspire them to join the extraordinary world of medical innovation. Set in a creative and collaborative environment, interns learn, work and network with our entrepreneurs, Fogarty Innovation staff members, outside industry experts and physicians. Through this experience, the interns gain a broader view of the medtech landscape and careers available in the healthcare industry.

Program Objectives

The program is designed to strengthen the medical device ecosystem by inspiring and educating the next generation of innovators. The Lefteroff interns will gain real-world experience in developing new medical devices, while also participating in a structured curriculum of activities designed to provide a broad view of their many career choices and the medical innovation ecosystem. In turn, the Fogarty Companies-In-Developement benefit by having access to upcoming, talented individuals to work on specified projects throughout the summer.

Program Overview

The Lefteroff Internship is an intensive eight-week program comprised of four main components:

Immersion with Fogarty Innovation startups

Lefteroff interns are paired with a host Company-in-Development, taking a deep dive into one particular company and specific projects that leverage and hone their skillsets via real-world experience.

Exposure to medical professionals and clinical medicine

FI coordinates meetings with physicians with different specialties as well as shadowing and/or clinical observation days at El Camino Health’s Mountain View hospital. This helps students understand what it’s like to be a physician and how they contribute to the medical device ecosystem.

Interaction with the Silicon Valley innovation ecosystem

FI coordinates meetings with a broad range of industry leaders to expand the interns’ understanding of how innovators obtain funding and how companies evolve from early-stage into mature businesses. Examples include meetings with Stanford Biodesign, other incubators, FI senior staff, venture capitalists or later-stage companies, such as Abbott Labs, Medtronic and J&J.

Education Programs

Lefteroff interns participate in a core curriculum that provides a broader understanding of what it takes to develop medical devices and showcases potential career opportunities. They are invited to join more advanced educational programs developed specifically for Companies-in-Development. The core curriculum may include the following introductory seminars:

Business 101
Startups 101
Intellectual Property 101
Quality Systems/Product Development Lifecycle 101
Regulatory 101
Clinical Evidence Development 101
Driving Towards A Career

Application Process and Program Timeline

The application process for the Lefteroff summer class of 2022 is now closed.

Summer 2022 application and program dates:

Applications accepted starting December 15, 2021
Application deadline is January 30, 2022
Finalist interviews and acceptance notifications occur in late February/early March 2022
Program begins June 22, 2022
Program ends August 17, 2022

If you have any questions regarding the program, please email us at Lefteroff@fogartyinnovation.org

The application period is now closed.

IN MEMORIAM
Tracy Lefteroff, Former Director

Tracy Lefteroff

Tracy Lefteroff was the former global managing partner of Private Equity and Venture Capital at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), overseeing services to privately owned and venture capital-funded companies worldwide.

Tracy was key to the development of strategic collaborative agreements with many of the major international pharmaceutical companies and assisted in several high-profile industry mergers. He also co-authored the firm’s Practice Standards and Aids for the life sciences industry and was regarded as one of the market’s most prominent analysts.

Lefteroff was with PwC for approximately 25 years. He served on several board of directors, including the Fogarty Institute for Innovation, the Stanford Venture Laboratory, the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the California Healthcare Institute. He was also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California, Washington and Idaho Societies of CPAs.

Testimonials

Note: The Lefteroff program was cancelled in 2020 to comply with state and county restrictions due to COVID-19.

Kristina Claras

Oregon State University; Bioengineering

Lefteroff Intern Class of 2021

“Working alongside individuals with such passion and energy has convinced me to further my career in the medical field. Seeing a product that was once just a startup idea eventually become a reality and get delivered to a patient who deeply needed it transformed my whole perspective on medtech.”

Kristina worked with Fogarty company-in-residence Chronus Health on blood enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), which is a way to quantify a target protein, such as albumin, which is an important blood protein. She particularly enjoyed the shadowing at the hospital and was able to watch a total hip replacement, which she had learned about for a final school project and was excited to see come to life.

Krutin Kumar

University of Texas, Dallas; Neuroscience and Business; Applying to medical school

Lefteroff Intern Class of 2021

“Fogarty’s internship program pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was able to approach people to learn more and acquire skills outside of my area of knowledge—a critical step to growing continually both personally and professionally.”

Like Kristina, Krutin also worked with Chronus Health. He performed market analysis on applying the company’s cell counting and differentiation technology to other fields and diseases. His favorite parts were interacting with mentors and professionals in different fields and shadowing at El Camino Hospital to see first-hand how innovative technologies play a critical role in delivering patient outcomes.

Seth Rothenberger

Purdue University; Biomedical Engineering (Ph.D. program)

Lefteroff Intern Class of 2021

“By working alongside everyone with the same goal of helping patients, I was able to use my skills as an engineer to further that mission. I didn’t realize I’d be so fascinated with intellectual property and patents, and the experience I gained in the internship will help me transition from academia into industry.”

Sean worked with Terumo Medical Innovation, developing a non-invasive monitor to measure urine output of patients with the aim to introduce a device that images bladder volume. He appreciated all the networking opportunities and the chance to meet everyone from engineers to clinicians to people with a business background.