JNST from left to right: Kumar Natarajan, Mandukwe, Chandan, and GujaratiSecond-year Molecular and Cellular Pathology (MCP) graduate program student, Siva Kumar Natarajan, a member of the Venneti Lab, hopes to be an entrepreneur one day. He recently had the opportunity to have a real inside view of what that might entail.
Hosted by the Michigan Graduate Consulting Club, the Midwest Case Competition is held each year to give graduate students an opportunity to work with a client to create solutions to a real-life business problem. Students work in teams of three to four people to help provide a fresh perspective on potential markets to explore, revenue streams, potential partners, and more. Siva's team, JSNT, also included Tanvi Gujarati from the Department of Physics, and Jerry Mandukwe and Naincy Chandan from the Smrcka Lab in the Department of Pharmacology.
This year, teams were tasked with working on solutions for ViewPoint. This university-based start-up was founded by Elisabeth R. Gerber, the Jack L. Walker, Jr. Professor of Public Police and Associate Dean for Research and Policy Engagement at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. ViewPoint is an online platform for creating, implementing, and evaluating role-playing simulations for a wide range of educational purposes.
Sixteen teams competed in the three-week long competition and ten teams advanced to the semi-finals. Siva’s team was selected as the first-place winner. “JNST was selected by the judges for their insightful identification of a promising new customer segment, their keenly structured analysis, and their effective presentation,” Gerber said. “Their work provided me with many new ideas and insights.”
The second-place award went to K&P to the Max, a team comprised of fourth year MCP students Paloma Garcia, a member of the Nunez Lab, and Kelly Kennaley, from the Tomlins Lab, as well as the Department of Chemical Engineering’s Xingjian (Max) Ma. "All of us, Kelly, Siva and I, are interested in pursuing a biotech or consulting career track, so this was a great opportunity to be exposed to a real-world problem and further develop our research and presentation skills," Garcia said. The three are also involved in miLEAD Consulting, a non-profit consulting company run by University of Michigan graduate students and post-docs.
Siva says participating in the competition taught him a great deal about the risks associated with a start-up and how to mitigate them with strong foundations and partners, as well as how to break into a market and compete with already well-established players. “This will go a long way in helping me think about the caveats in building a start-up and will help me translate my science to products that can reach patients,” he adds.
![]() Breast team reviewing a patient's slide. (From left to right) Ghassan Allo, Fellow; Laura Walters, Clinical Lecturer; Celina Kleer, Professor. See Article 2014Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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![]() Dr. Sriram Venneti, MD, PhD and Postdoctoral Fellow, Chan Chung, PhD investigate pediatric brain cancer. See Article 2017Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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![]() Director of the Neuropathology Fellowship, Dr. Sandra Camelo-Piragua serves on the Patient and Family Advisory Council. 2018Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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![]() Residents Ashley Bradt (left) and William Perry work at a multi-headed scope in our new facility. 2019Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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![]() Dr. Kristine Konopka (right) instructing residents while using a multi-headed microscope. 2020Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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![]() Patient specimens poised for COVID-19 PCR testing. 2021Department Chair |
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![]() (Left to Right) Drs. Angela Wu, Laura Lamps, and Maria Westerhoff. 2023Department Chair |
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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INSIDE PATHOLOGYAbout Our NewsletterInside Pathology is an newsletter published by the Chairman's Office to bring news and updates from inside the department's research and to become familiar with those leading it. It is our hope that those who read it will enjoy hearing about those new and familiar, and perhaps help in furthering our research. CONTENTS
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MLabs, established in 1985, functions as a portal to provide pathologists, hospitals. and other reference laboratories access to the faculty, staff and laboratories of the University of Michigan Health System’s Department of Pathology. MLabs is a recognized leader for advanced molecular diagnostic testing, helpful consultants and exceptional customer service.