Slater Technology Fund Partners with R.I. EPSCoR Program to Offer Fellowships for Student Entrepreneurs

Joint Slater-NSF Program to Encourage Entrepreneurship in Life Sciences

Providence, R.I., December 15, 2008 — The Slater Technology Fund today announced the EPSCoR Fellows Program, a joint initiative with the National Science Foundation’s Rhode Island Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (R.I. EPSCoR) designed to encourage entrepreneurship in the life sciences and biotechnology industries in Rhode Island. The program, which will fund six internships per semester at the Slater Technology Fund, will be open to graduate and undergraduate students at universities throughout the state. The program is expected to begin during the 2009 spring semester.

The life sciences industry is one of Rhode Island’s strongest sectors, employing more than 35,000 people and offering some of the state’s highest average salaries. As a driver of high-wage job growth, the sector represents one of the state’s most important economic development opportunities. The research enterprise in life sciences, comprising both academic institutions and entrepreneurial startups, is a sub-sector with particularly promising growth prospects.

The EPSCoR Fellows Program seeks to draw a next generation of participants into the field of entrepreneurship in life sciences by integrating students’ academic endeavors in university settings with hands-on experience in a commercial context. Students will actively engage in the process of venture development, interacting with scientists and researchers in academic labs as well as working closely with professionals in the venture capital community. A goal of the program is to better inform students of the career development options available within the life sciences research enterprise in Rhode Island.

“Engaging a next generation of entrepreneurs into the life sciences research enterprise developing here in Rhode Island represents a terrific opportunity,” said Richard G. Horan, senior managing director of the Slater Technology Fund. “While a pilot-scale initiative at this stage, we are hopeful of leveraging follow-on funding from the NSF EPSCoR Program to establish the program as an on-going option for students interested in pursuing careers in the life sciences industry.”

According to Jeff Seemann, Dean of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences at the University of Rhode Island and principal investigator of R.I. EPSCoR, as well as the co-chair of the Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council (STAC), “This new program represents the addition of another essential ‘piece of the puzzle’ for driving forward economic development in Rhode Island. Training scientists to do not only cutting-edge research, but also to think and function as entrepreneurs, is a part of the way that we will develop a knowledge-based, high-return economy for our state. Couple this with a forward-looking K-16 educational system, continued state investment in organizations such as Slater and STAC, and other critical long-term investments, and Rhode Island will come out of this economic downturn well positioned for the future.”

For more information about the EPSCoR Fellows Program, or to apply for a fellowship, visit http://stac.ri.gov/news/2008/12/11/entrepreneurial-fellows-program/.

About R.I. EPSCoR
The Rhode Island Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (RI EPSCoR) builds partnerships between state government, institutions of higher education and industry to effect lasting improvements in Rhode Island’s research infrastructure and national R&D competitiveness. RI EPSCoR has been supported by the National Science Foundation since 2004, receiving federal funding commitments in excess of $6.75 million. For more information, visit www.stac.ri.gov.

About Slater Technology Fund
The Slater Technology Fund is a state-backed venture capital fund that invests in new companies committed to basing and building their businesses in Rhode Island. Slater focuses its resources on the support of entrepreneurs who have the vision, leadership and commitment to build substantial commercial enterprises. Slater typically invests at the inception stage in the development of a new venture, often based upon ideas and technologies originating in academic institutions and/or government research laboratories located within the region. In most cases, investments are premised upon the possibility of raising substantial follow-on financing, from venture capital investors or from strategic partners, with a view toward accelerating the generation of significant numbers of high-value, high-wage jobs over the intermediate to longer-term. For more information, visit www.slaterfund.com.

For More Information:

Laura Nelson or Kaycee Roberts
SVM Public Relations
(401) 490-9700
laura.nelson@svmpr.com
kaycee.roberts@svmpr.com