Business principles affect all organizations. In today’s highly competitive and highly complicated working environments, understanding these principles gives leaders and managers a strategic advantage, enabling them to handle situations more effectively and make decisions more effectively.

This module is a unique distillation of the tools and skills needed to be successful in business, whether your business is leadership of a team of scientists, management of lab, directing a technology startup, applying for grants, or all of the above.  And whether your career will direct you toward research (lab directors, PIs, etc.) or toward a career outside the lab, the topics in this course will introduce you to the tools needed to understand business, evaluate business situations effectively, analyze key business data drawing on both internal and external sources, and make effective business decisions.

Module Objectives:

• Broaden the training of biomedical sciences trainees to include business principles and tools;
• Provide participants with tools and understanding of key financial concepts so they can be stronger financial managers and make better financial decisions;
• Enable participants to understand how management and leadership are essential to success in highly competitive environments;
• Teach participants to build effective teams, develop effective culture, and produce high levels of individual and team performance;
• Help participants understand the importance of internal and external marketing and communication;
• Teach participants to use product and service development to gain strategic advantage;
• Help participants understand the power of systems and controls in delivering effective operational results;
• Teach participants to use performance measurement to improve results;
• Empower participants with problem solving, project management, and decision making tools;
• Better prepare biomedical sciences trainees for a career inside or outside the lab!

This module emphasizes key concepts and tools. The business world is loaded with theories on how organizations should work and what would make them work better. These theories and concepts are known by many different names, most of which are simply re-named and re-packaged versions of prior theories.  The concepts and tools covered in this module, however, are designed to be kept handy in your “tool kit” and are expected to be used very frequently to address your daily management challenges.

Module dates and times: Wednesdays from 8:30-10:30 a.m., January 17-April 17, 2024

Instructor: Joe Rando, Lecturer in Managerial Studies, Vanderbilt University

Module structure: Interactive lectures and small group discussions (first half) followed by a team capstone project (second half)

Cost: No cost to PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in the biomedical sciences or chemistry.

Eligibility: Open to Vanderbilt biomedical sciences and chemistry postdoctoral fellows and PhD students who have passed their qualifying exams before January 2024.

Questions: Please contact Angela Zito (angela.zito@vanderbilt.edu), Assistant Director, BRET Office of Career Development

This module is designed to provide an efficient introduction to practical business concepts and tools. The total time commitment for this module is about 4-5 hours/week, including in-class meetings and out-of-class readings.

For the first half of the module (January - March), the module will consist of interactive didactic sessions.  Each didactic session will require 1-2 hours of reading to be completed before class.

There will be a 1/2 day, retreat, mid March. There will be speakers as well as time for participants to form groups and meet with the Core Facilities to discuss projects.

For the second part of the module (March - April), participants will break into small groups and complete a project in consultation with the director of a Vanderbilt Core Facility. The module will continue to meet Wednesdays from 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. during this time, for short didactic lectures on problem solving and project management, and for teams to work on their project in class. Individual teams may also need to meet outside of class to work on their project or visit their core facility. Each person is required to contribute to the team project and participate in the final presentations.

Attendance Policy

Because the course is interactive and team-based, and this is a limited enrollment opportunity, course participants need to attend all sessions and participate fully. This includes attending the 1/2 day retreat, completing reading assignments outside of class, and contributing to the team-based project. Participants should discuss time away from the lab with their research advisor in advance of the course. Anticipated absences, such as for scientific conferences, should be discussed with the course director.

The module will be a mix of interactive didactic sessions (pre-retreat) and small team-based projects with short lectures on project management and problem-solving, (post-retreat). Due to the interactive nature of this course, attendance at all sessions is required.