{"661198":{"#nid":"661198","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Faces of Research: Meet Nakia Melecio","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/innovate.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EEnterprise Innovation Institute\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;is Georgia Tech\u0026rsquo;s economic development arm. With more than a dozen programs, it\u0026nbsp;serves all of Georgia and beyond through a variety of services and offerings that build and scale startups, grow business enterprises, and energize ecosystem builders.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis installment of the Faces of Research Series Q\u0026amp;A series is with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/nakiamelecio\/\u0022\u003ENakia Melecio\u003C\/a\u003E, senior research faculty member and director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/medtech.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ECenter for MedTech Excellence\u003C\/a\u003E at the Enterprise\u0026nbsp;Innovation Institute.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is your field of expertise and why did you choose it?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nI\u0026#39;m a member of the senior research faculty at Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s Enterprise Innovation Institute. I have a strong passion for helping researchers and scientists translate their research and discoveries into commercial startups with a heavy focus in deep tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat makes the Center for MedTech Excellence\u0026#39;s approach to economic development] unique?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nWe catalyze the development and commercialization of breakthrough biotechnology, medical devices, life science, and therapeutic innovations. We serve as trusted partners and deliver a complete toolkit to enhance the odds of success of\u0026nbsp;early-stage biotech companies. The Center\u0026#39;s efforts are supported the Enterprise Innovation Institute\u0026#39;s\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gamep.org\u0022\u003E Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (GaMEP)\u003C\/a\u003E and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/atdc.org\u0022\u003EAdvanced technology Development Center\u003C\/a\u003E, as well as \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/gcmiatl.com\u0022\u003EGlobal Center for Medical Innovation (GCMI)\u003C\/a\u003E, a Georgia Tech affiliate.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat couldn\u0026#39;t have happened without the\u0026nbsp;Center for MedTech Excellence?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nA scan of Georgia\u0026rsquo;s startup support organizations revealed gaps in the resources available for medical technology or MedTech startups. The curriculum geared for idea-stage startups that uses\u0026nbsp;evidence-based entrepreneurship (Lean Startup) programming is widely available. But while\u0026nbsp;this is a great foundation, this programming does not help startups understand the process of scaling their business, nor does it contribute to medical device companies\u0026#39; regulatory and unique development needs and their technologies. Beyond the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), there are no programs with a structured curriculum and hands-on programming to take a proven model to scale. The Center for MedTech Excellence outlines the current gaps in scaling MedTech companies and we\u0026#39;ve created programming and activities to address those gaps.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat impact is Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s research having on the clients with whom you work?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nThe impact is enormous because we are not only creating new industries, but our Center, with its\u0026nbsp;research focus in the MedTech space, is helping drive high-paying scientific jobs\u0026nbsp;and transform\u0026nbsp;underserved communities with quality sustainable economic impact.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat do you like to do in your spare time when you are not working?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nI love to work even in my spare time by supporting the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gistnetwork.org\u0022\u003EGlobal Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST)\u003C\/a\u003E program at the U.S. State Department. This allows me to give back to the global scientific, research, and academic communities\u0026nbsp;worldwide in emerging markets where they don\u0026rsquo;t have access to resources, coaching, or mentoring. When truly unplugging,\u0026nbsp;I like to cook and grill, I\u0026#39;m nuts about Christmas-themed\u0026nbsp;movies, I like physical activities including\u0026nbsp;I cycling,\u0026nbsp;mountain biking, and\u0026nbsp;swimming.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Nakia Melecio is a senior research faculty member at the Enterprise Innovation Institute"}],"uid":"28137","created_gmt":"2022-09-14 23:13:59","changed_gmt":"2022-09-14 23:19:37","author":"P\u00e9ralte Paul","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-09-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"661199":{"id":"661199","type":"image","title":"FoR: Nakia Melecio Image","body":null,"created":"1663197542","gmt_created":"2022-09-14 23:19:02","changed":"1663197542","gmt_changed":"2022-09-14 23:19:02","alt":"","file":{"fid":"250485","name":"faces of research banner-Melecio.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/faces%20of%20research%20banner-Melecio.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/faces%20of%20research%20banner-Melecio.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":535802,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/faces%20of%20research%20banner-Melecio.jpg?itok=rJ1llH6W"}}},"media_ids":["661199"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EP\u0026eacute;ralte C. Paul\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nperalte.paul@comm.gatech.edu\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404.316.1210\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}