At Umeå University, the life science innovation journey typically begins at the Innovation Office, where ideas are evaluated through needs validation as well as IP and patent assessments. Projects with strong scientific foundations and clear innovation potential can then advance to incubation at Umeå Biotech Incubator.

“Many life science innovators are in the midst of their academic careers, which can make it difficult also to drive the commercialization of their research. We have therefore identified a clear need for a dedicated resource to move projects forward at this stage,” says Peter Jacobsson, Operations manager at UBI.

Ololade Awoyomi

To strengthen this critical handover, UBI has created a new role and appointed Ololade Awoyomi as project manager through the end of the year. She will focus on advancing selected projects, initially working with two cases to support their progression from early-stage development into incubation.

Ololade Awoyomi holds a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from Umeå University and is a certified project manager.

“I’ve always been driven by a strong interest in advancing life science innovation. I’m looking forward to supporting projects in the critical transition from pre-incubation to incubation,” she says.