Hello
My name is Charne' Meintjes
Currently, I am a second year Master of Microbial Biotechnology and incoming MBA student at NCSU with a passion for giving people choices when it comes to their health. Having lived around the world, I have seen the significant impact having access to preventive medicine practices has on a community and hope to expand those practices so more people can take control of their own health.
Career Objectives
In obtaining my MMB degree alongside an MBA, I hope to gain the fundamental skills needed to help develop and support preventative health practices that give people more choices by changing medicine from the current reactive approach to a proactive approach: from sick care to health care. I am specifically interested in helping scientists to translate and apply their research to new technologies, therapies and devices through consulting, research and development, and entrepreneurial pursuits.
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The MMB Program
North Carolina State University's Masters of Microbial Biotechnology (MMB) is a two year Masters program that takes scientific minded students and provides them with a business education focused on the specific challenges and facets of the biotechnology industry. Throughout the program students gain hands-on industry experience working with various local and global biotechnology companies every semester, and complete a summer internship alongside traditional coursework.
Education
2022-current
Masters of Microbial Biotechnology
North Carolina State University
The Masters of Microbial Biotechnology (MMB) program blends science and business to give students an understanding of the real world application of biotechnology and the business skills needed to translate research to a marketable product. The program provides hands-on experience working alongside new and established biotechnology companies, alongside traditional coursework and internships.
2017-2021
Bachelors of Genetics
University of Georgia
Magna Cum Laude
My undergraduate degree in Genetics provided me with a strong foundation of the current biochemical and genetic techniques that are helping scientists pave the way for a new generation of medicine. As a part of my degree, I also worked in lab researching Trypanosomatids, a parasite that causes the lethal disease African Sleeping Sickness. Throughout this experience I learned a variety of laboratory skills as well as how to work collaboratively, what it means to problem solve in real time, and how to continuously adapt and evolve my own thinking.
2017-2021
Bachelors of English
University of Georgia
Magna Cum Laude
In my undergraduate English degree, I focused my studies on poetry & literature, which has provided me not only with solid communication skills, but has fueled my creativity and my ability to connect with, listen, and understand people from other cultures, backgrounds, and belief systems. During my degree, I also studied in Oxford where I learned how to find and ask the critical questions, as well as how to take criticism and benefit from it.
Scientific Experiences
Business Experiences
Business Coursework:
MBA 585: Current Topics in Biosciences Management
In this class we analyzed 8 case studies prepared by Harvard Business School to learn about various components of the biotechnology industry ranging from the impact of Covid-19 on manufacturing supply chains to the funding and business-development strategies for a platform-based biotech company like Kymera therapeutics. We also had weekly guest lecturers and prepared a semester long report on a specific sector of biotechnology. Please see the links below for my team's final presentation & report on the Industrial Biosciences market.
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BUS 554: Project Management
Following the Project Management Institute's (PMI®) guide and process, we learned about the process of managing project portfolios, the basics of creating a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), project network, resource allocation and scheduling, and various risk management techniques alongside learning how to utilize Microsoft Project software. Please see the links below examples of the assignments and work completed in this course.
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MBA 570: Opportunity Evaluation and Value Creation
Throughout this course, I lead a small team to explore an innovative new business idea for United Therapeutics Corporation wherein we built a full business case for the idea including developing an executive summary, value proposition, financial projections, timeline, adoption and implement plan. We also learned how to manage corporate innovation and entrepreneurship and how to build customized systems for businesses to support continuous product and services innovation. As all material we generated in this course is the property of United Therapeutics, we cannot share examples of the work.
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MBA 572: Venture Opportunity Analytics
In this advanced business analytics class, I co-lead a group of 5 students in collaborating with a NC based startup, Leantime Co. As a team, we worked closely with one of the founders to define a series of researchable business questions that we gathered quantitative and qualitative data on via designing and distributing surveys and conducting interviews. Using various statistical analytical tools, we analyzed and interpreted the data to determine the value of the opportunity based on the business questions. For an example of the scope of work and midterm presentation, please see the links below.
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Business Experiences:
Business Pitch
Working with 3 other MMB students and Karuna Nambi Gowri, Ph.D. candidate from NCSU's College of Textiles, we had the opportunity to enter the 2023 Catalyze Conference competition where we pitched a business model of Karuna's research on barbed sutures. Find our final presentation below.
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Teamwork & Communication
Chronic Itch
Canine Nutrition
Vizma Life Sciences
Chronic Itch: Chronic Pruritis Drug Discovery Market Landscape Review
In collaboration with NCSU's Office of Research Commercialization, my fellow MMB members and I worked with Dr. Mishra to investigate the clinical landscape of Cilengitide and identify potential investors into Dr. Mishra's application of this drug for chronic itch. The project involved an in-depth analysis of the current patents and clinical trials utilizing Cilengitide, which was subsequently used to identify potential business investors who where prominent in the chronic itch field, or had previously used Cilengitide for an alternative application. The final presentation and executive summary can be found here:
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An Analysis of Canine Nutrition Diets: Grain-Free & RMBS/BARF - Literature Review & Presentation
As a part of the MMB program, every semester we write a literature review on a topic relating to our industry practicum project and present our findings in a presentation. My focus for this project was investigating popular trends in canine diets and analyzing their scientific validity. My review and presentation can be viewed here:
Vizma Life Sciences Market Analysis on Medical Imaging Technologies - Executive Summary & Presentation
As a part of the MMB program, we begin the Fall semesters working in small teams with a scientist interested in developing a business form their research. For my first semester, I worked with Dr. Thomas Theis who is one one of the owners of Vizma Life Sciences. His company has developed a novel technology to hyperpolarize injectable metabolites which can be used for MRI and NMR imaging. Along with my team, we analyzed the current molecular imaging technology market specifically in terms of the pre-clinical imaging and drug discovery markets, and identified which market we believe Vizma Life Sciences should invest in. We also identified potential competitors and investors, and communicated with experts in the field to determine the applications, challenges, and requirements of this technology.
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MMB Industry Practicum Projects
Fall 2023: Digital Health Consulting with Latham Biopharm Group
Latham Biopharm Group (LBG) is a life-sciences consulting company who have recently decided to expand their services to include a digital health transformation branch. As the digital health field is very vast, LBG tasked my group to explore how AI and other digital tools are impacting Therapeutic Development, Clinical Development, Digital Diagnostics and Cloud Services. After providing an initial market analysis of these sectors, my team and I reached out to key opinion leaders within each of these sectors to identify the current pain points, and from this information we performed a market gap analysis and opportunity assessment for LBG. We translated our insights into a strategy to help LBG not only enter this digital health space, but also pinpointed specific consulting services that are missing and/or needed within AI based healthcare.
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Spring 2023: Food Tech Consultants for Cosmic Eats
Cosmic Eats is a RTP-based startup that is developing a unique vertically integrated food supply system that can both grow and process plants, fungi and algae into recognizable foods such as spaghetti, tacos and salads. The technology is also able to create meals that are specific to the nutritional requirements of the end user. Working directly with the two founders, my team and I started this project by identifying and presenting on 13 new potential markets for their technology. The top three markets (food deserts, non-arable lands, and disaster relief) were selected by the founders and my team and I subsequently did an in-depth market analysis using literature reviews, market research databases, and conducting interviews with experts in the field. This research culminated in a final presentation and executive report for the company where we concluded with our final recommendations on the viability of each market and a detailed Go-To-Market-Strategy. Please see the links below for our final executive summary & presentation.
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Fall 2022: Pet Industry Consultants for Alura
Alura is a South American biotechnology company who have developed a novel biotechnology manufacturer process to control extraction of the mushroom Ganoderma Lucidum. From their clinical studies, Alura had seen the benefical impact of Ganoderma Lucidum in canine health and were interested in entering into the US pet industry with their new tehcnology. My team was tasked to investigate the USA canine food, supplement, and treat markets and based on our research, make a recommendation as to which market Alura should enter into. From there we identified and reached out to key opinion leaders, developed a market strategy for our chosen marketspace, and identified 1-3 companies who may be interested in partnering with Alura as an ingredient supplier. ​
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