Understanding, Building and Achieving Diversity and Inclusion Excellence in the University of Pittsburgh Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Project Description 

Pitt aspires to foster research of impact and a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Yet, it is unclear how these aspirations are supported or achieved through Pitt’s translational, tech transfer and commercialization activities. Literature suggests societally beneficial inventions often have small commercial markets, and entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups may be less successful in attracting funding, making it difficult to jointly maximize DEI, commercial value, and societal impacts. We propose to study how DEI are incorporated and promoted in Pitt’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to identify opportunities to reconcile trade-offs between societal impact and commercial value, and promote excellence in DEI.

Principal Investigator

Dr. Susan Cohen 
Katz Graduate School of Business

Select Collaborators 

Dr. Mary Goldberg
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Dr. Hassan Karimi 
School of Computing and Information

Dr. Jon Pearlman
School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Mohammed Alharbi
School of Computing and Information

Tony Mundassery
Katz Graduate School of Business

Koushul Ramjattun
Biomedical Informatics