Georgia Tech bioengineering Ph.D. student Yash Kolambkar is one of 13 postdoctoral researchers to be named among the first Kauffman Postdoctoral Fellows.

In addition to providing a salary and benefits to support the fellows' research over the course of the yearlong fellowship, the Kauffman Foundation has matched each fellow with an academic advisor to mentor him/her on matters beyond research, and an experienced investor or corporate leader to serve as a business mentor. During the fellowship year, each fellow also will undertake an industry internship suited to his or her research interests and objectives. Kolambkar is a researcher in the biomedical field with a strong focus on translation of research ideas into commercially viable products. Yash has earned a technology commercialization certificate from the nationally recognized TI:GER (Technological Innovation: Generating Economic Results) program, based at Georgia Tech and Emory Law School. In the program, he developed a commercialization plan for his PhD technology, which would restore cartilage in osteoarthritic patients. He has been a consultant to VentureLab, where he identified and evaluated Georgia Tech technologies with strong commercial potential. He is currently preparing to successfully defend his PhD thesis.