National Science Foundation’s, Erik Pierstorff, Program Director for Biological Technologies

On April 12^th the ICBI will be hosting the National Science Foundation’s, Erik Pierstorff, Program Director for Biological Technologies to discuss the agency’s SBIR/STTR programs and hold one-on-one meetings with interested principal investigators and emerging companies.

Innovation programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) advance ideas from the laboratory to the marketplace to strengthen America’s economy, health, and security. Several programs at NSF are focused on translating fundamental research into market solutions. NSF supports and trains researchers with promising technologies, invests in high-tech small businesses and collaborations between academia and industry to transform discoveries into innovative commercial technologies with societal benefits. Learn about the NSF’s central role in accelerating the growth of the national ecosystem and hear about specific funding opportunities.

Erik Pierstorff joined the NSF as Program Director in November 2019. Prior to NSF, he was Chief of Operations and led Research and Development at O-Ray Pharma, where he focused on integrating biology and biomedical engineering for the goal of drug development and sustained drug delivery for the treatment of hearing loss and other ear disorders. During his time working at early stage companies, he helped secure both Angel investment and non-dilutive funding in the form of licensing and co-development deals. Additionally, he served as Principal Investigator on several Phase I, II and IIB SBIR grants from the National Institutes of Health and NSF. His research interests have focused on the intersection of the biotic and abiotic, spanning molecular and cell biology, materials science, gene therapy, nanomaterials and drug delivery. Erik has a Ph.D. in Molecular and Cell Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a B.S. in Biology from Emory University.

Later this week we will be sending out the event zoom link & additional information for in-person attendance.