Venture Operations & Commercial Assessments

Portal Innovations

Mentors 

Steve Lehmann Director | Venture Operations
Yuan Zhang, PhD Director | Scientific Operations (BA ‘09, MS ’14, PhD ’16)

Company Overview

Portal Innovations is a premier venture development engine that bridges scientific ideation in life sciences, medtech, and bioinformatics through commercial proof of concept by delivering seed capital, specialized equipment and lab space and management expertise to high-potential early-stage companies. Portal is located in the West Loop.

Externship Description

Externs will work with Portal’s Director of Venture Operations and Director of Scientific Operations to conduct initial due diligence on early-stage biotech companies entering Portal’s orbit. Over the course of the externship, externs will learn Portal’s methodology for conducting early due diligence by completing Commercial Assessments of several emerging biotechnologies and exploring the scientific, clinical, regulatory, and market context of each. Externs will present their findings to the rest of the team during weekly pipeline meetings.

As an extern, you can expect to be exposed to some of the most exciting technologies in the world, at their earliest stages. Portal utilizes an apprenticeship model where Analysts learn-by-doing and quickly develop expertise by working closely with more senior team members. Similar to a medical residency, we follow a “see one, do one, teach one” approach to teaching the foundational skills required to successfully evaluate, launch, and invest in companies.

Qualifications

• Currently graduate student or postdoctoral trainee with a life science background

• Interest in early-stage biotechnology startups

• Can quickly and independently come up to speed on complex scientific concepts and then clearly communicate them in writing, with concision and simplicity.

• Some familiarity with the drug development process, FDA regulatory pathways, US healthcare landscape.

• Prior experience within UChicago’s entrepreneurial ecosystem (e.g. UCBA, I-Corps, the Compass, the George Shultz Innovation Fund) is a strong plus.

• Excellent time management skills and ability to prioritize and pivot.

Expectations

• Commit ~10 hours per week for independent due diligence

• Attend weekly meetings with the Portal team

• Investigate emerging biotechnologies using a combination of public and proprietary (e.g. GlobalData, Pitchbook) data sources.

• Clearly articulate findings, develop a perspective, and create and defend investment theses.

• One quarter minimum commitment with the option to continue to two or more quarters.