Matt McMahon Director, SEED, Office of Extramural Research (OER) National Institutes of Health (United States)

The National Institutes of Health sits at the intersection of academia, small businesses, and industry. While translational and product development programs, such as Blueprint Medtech and Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx), fuel discoveries in academia, NIH’s Small Business Programs (SBIR and STTR), provide over one billion dollars annually to test the feasibility of novel products resulting from these discoveries and to validate their healthcare potential. NIH innovators work with the SEED Office (Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development) to access technical and entrepreneurial advisory services across all areas of the life sciences and to build relationships with business, finance, and healthcare stakeholders. Matt McMahon, SEED’s Director, will describe different program and use specific examples to illustrate how these programs have supported cutting edge innovations that impact patients’ lives.

Matt McMahon leads the SEED Office (Small business Education and Entrepreneurial Development) in helping to transform cutting-edge technologies into products that improve health and save lives. The SEED team educates and assists NIH-funded innovators as they transition from discovery science to product development. SEED helps academic innovators validate the potential health impacts of their discoveries through a national network of proof-of-concept centers and provides a host of professional advisory services to small business innovators funded by NIH’s $1.2 billion/year SBIR and STTR programs. Matt has a diverse background in academia, small business, congressional policy, and NIH program management. He previously served as the first director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Office of Translational Alliances and Coordination, and he created and led the National Eye Institute’s Office of Translational Research. His previous experience also includes service as the principal scientist for the bionic eye company Second Sight Medical Products and as a staff member on both the United States Senate and House of Representatives committees responsible for science, technology, and innovation policy. Matthew holds a B.S. in Optical Engineering from the University of Rochester and a M.A and Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of California, San Diego.