Learn how the NIH/ National Institute on Aging (NIA) provides non-dilutive seed funding for life science start-ups, innovators and entrepreneurs through their SBIR program;  including funding,  programming, support staff and training for entrepreneurs throughout the lifecycle of the development and commercialization process for innovative products and services in life sciences research associated with healthy aging and Alzheimer’s Disease.
Examples include research in products and services associated with understanding the aging process; tools for caregivers and clinicians such as mobile tech and novel devices, therapeutics, cognitive training, and robotics used in the diagnosis, treatment and care of Alzheimer’s Disease and AD-related dementia patients and caregivers.

One-on-one meetings available with NIA representatives!
Register and contact mlandry@neworleansbio.com to schedule a 1-on-1.

Todd Haim, PhD, Chief of the Office of Small Business Research at the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In that role, Todd manages the SBIR & STTR programs at NIA. Prior to joining NIA in 2018, Todd was a program director in the NCI SBIR Development Center. Dr. Haim managed SBIR & STTR grants and contracts focused on the development of novel cancer therapeutics and drug discovery technologies. Additionally, Todd played a key role in the planning, design, and leadership of several center initiatives, including NCI Investor Initiatives, the NCI Bridge Award, and NCI-held workshops for SBIR awardees. Prior to starting in the SBIR Development Center, he was a Research Associate and Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Haim staffed the Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPUP) and his efforts centered on follow-up activities to the 2005 “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” report related to various innovation initiatives and evaluation programs. Previously, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Pfizer in which he actively led Pfizer’s research efforts in a collaboration with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis that illustrated a mechanism for altered cardiac contractility due to excess fatty acids. Dr. Haim graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in January 2007 with a PhD in biomedical research and obtained a certificate in technology commercialization from John Hopkins’ Carey Business School in 2011. He has received several prestigious awards and honors including the 2014 NCI Leadership Development Award, multiple NIH and NCI Director’s Awards and the NJ Governor’s Award for Volunteerism in the Field of Health.

Maureen Cusick Thomas, Small Business Outreach Coordinator for Translational Research in the Division of Extramural Activities at the National Institute on Aging (DEA/NIA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this role, Ms. Cusick Thomas collaborates with the DEA’s Translational Working Group on the advancement of NIA’s T1 and T2 translational research priorities through outreach and interactions with the national SBIR/STTR community. In addition, Ms. Cusick Thomas reports to the Chief, Small Business Research Office, NIA, working collaboratively to identify new outreach opportunities for NIA to identify and strengthen relationships with key audiences in the nation’s small business community to accelerate the level and quality of funding applicants.
The Small Business Research Office strengthens engagement and promotes outreach at the national level through conferences and by promoting outreach to the incubator and entrepreneurial communities, small business development centers, and tech transfer offices at university and research campuses across the country. Working with federal, state and regional community partners, the office’s goal is to attract high quality, innovative small-businesses to the NIA and increase the quality and quantity of applications for SBIR/STTR applications.
Ms. Cusick Thomas received her M.P.M. in Management and Public/Private Sector Relations from the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her B.A. from Notre Dame of Maryland University with a major in Economics. Ms. Thomas has worked in a variety of roles specializing in public/private sector partnerships at the federal, state and regional levels within the small business community over the past 15 years.