College of Business Teams
with biotechnology powerhouses
to offer Ph.D./MBA

Curriculum will prepare life scientists for careers in swiftly advancing biotechnology industry

Citing the increasing need for highly skilled business professionals to lead the next wave of the rapidly expanding biotechnology industry, the College of Business has teamed with Invitrogen Corporation and other biotechnology industry giants to establish the first joint Ph.D./MBA program in the nation that focuses both degrees in the life sciences and features direct involvement with biotech companies. The university started a pilot phase in September 2003 with three students and plans to expand to approximately 30 students next year.

“With a large number of major breakthroughs on the horizon for the biotechnology, life science research and pharmaceutical industries, we need leaders who can not only manage the discovery cycle through new research, but also demonstrate the business acumen required to create successful companies around these ideas,” said Gail K. Naughton, Ph.D., dean of SDSU’s College of Business and a founder of a public biotech company as well. “This will help the great ideas that fuel life science become the actual therapies of the future.”

Naughton said San Diego is the perfect environment to host such a Ph.D./MBA program because it’s home to the third-largest concentration of biotech companies in the nation, with more than 400 such businesses and several prominent life science research institutions in the region.

Global biotechnology leaders such as Invitrogen say the value of this innovative PhD-MBA educational model is that it’s primed to produce “home-grown” leaders for its industry who have specialized training in meeting the distinct research, development, marketing, financing and other challenges found in drug discovery, biodevice development, and other life science-related fields.

“One of the biggest challenges in our industry is attracting candidates who have the skill to envision functional applications for cutting edge research,” said Gregory T. Lucier, President and CEO of Invitrogen. “The types of candidates that companies such as ours seek out are those who will make a tangible impact on improving the human condition. This new program is a positive step in training skilled scientists to become the business leaders of tomorrow.”

Invitrogen, Pfizer and Cardiodynamics, Inc. are sponsoring the start-up phase of the PhD-MBA program. In addition to sponsorship, Invitrogen is heavily involved in the program through executive lectures, case studies, internship opportunities and other application-based initiatives.

“Having executives and scientists from Invitrogen directly interact with our students will ensure that our program goes beyond teaching theory to address real-life, real-time industry needs and concerns, and so students can adapt as the biotech industry changes,” Naughton said.

By combining what would typically be two extensive courses of study—a biotechnology-focused MBA and a Ph.D. in molecular or cell biology in conjunction with University of California, San Diego—there is also an opportunity to complete the program in less time and move forward into business pursuits more quickly. These attributes make the program attractive to entrepreneurial-focused students like Matthew Giacalone.

Giacalone graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in molecular and cell biology from SDSU and also has worked for MPEX, an incubator biotechnology company spun off from SDSU research. His responsibility was to lead the research and development effort in creating new types of vaccines.

“I knew I wanted to pursue a Ph.D. with an entrepreneurial emphasis,” said Giacalone. “I want to get ahead in this field, become a manager. I love learning, and the atmosphere at San Diego State is wonderful. This just seemed like a perfect fit for me to achieve the type of goals I have set out for myself.”

Currently, the university is working to secure additional funding to guarantee the program’s continuation and growth. Naughton says she hopes that the success and growth of its joint Ph.D./MBA degree at her institution will prompt universities and businesses in other biotechnology hubs to look for similar ways to advance the profession and the industry.