Diane Fabel, Director of Operations at the Stony Brook Center for Biotechnology, notes that many different kinds of expertise are necessary for the success of a biotech venture. She herself has a background in economics and experience in commercial real estate and economic development initiatives. She describes the importance of “understanding the regulatory environment, the real estate environment, and all the incentives offered through the county IDAs [industrial development agencies] and through New York state…we needed that knowledge to guide our clients.” Diane later went on to get a PhD in biomedical engineering because she wanted to know more about “how science becomes technology, [how it] becomes a product, and how do you do that efficiently” and in a way that has the impact you want. “How do you create a culture that supports that?”
