Nicole Schwerbrock, Ph.D., Associate Director of IBD Venture Investments since April 2022, manages key aspects of the IBD Ventures team, focusing on the identification, development, and management of high-impact investment opportunities that advance novel products addressing unmet patient needs. She leads outreach efforts to engage stakeholders from industry and academia, as well as overseeing planning for the annual IBD Innovate conference. Prior to IBD Ventures, Nicole directed the Technology Commercialization team at the North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), which supports emerging IP-based life sciences companies seeking to secure dilutive and non-dilutive funding. As an Entrepreneurship Fellow at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, she supported faculty seeking to transform their research into commercially impactful innovations. Nicole served as an R&D scientist in both startup and established pharmaceutical companies (Qualiber and Sanofi). She holds a Masters degree in Biomedical Sciences and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her association with IBD began with her research thesis project under Dr. Balfour Sartor which established her commitment to addressing IBD patient needs.