Northwestern University

The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

University of Delaware

External Innovation at Baxter International Inc.

My colleagues and I manage external R&D innovation activities for the Renal Care business unit. Our group also coordinates the due diligence activities in support of acquisitions, licensing agreements and venture investments.

Baxter International Inc.

External Innovation

Building on my previous role, I partnered with cross-functional teams to discover, evaluate and propose new technology options in support of mid-to-long term growth objectives as potential business development or licensing opportunities for all six global business units.

Corporate Innovation, Technology Landscapes

In this role, I supported business development and due diligence activities by conducting technology assessments, identifying subject matter experts and academic resources for technology scouting, and creating technology landscapes for R&D strategy and planning.

Corporate Innovation, Technology Assessments & Landscapes

In this role within the Renal group, I was responsible for supporting various functions by providing therapy efficacy predictions from kinetic models of peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis. This required close collaboration with Medical, Research, and Marketing functions. It also required strong knowledge of physiological and theoretical aspects of dialysis, existing therapy modalities and devices, and numerical methods.

My involvement in projects often occurred during the innovation and early feasibility phases when kinetic models are essential to define new concepts and evaluate emerging technologies. Exploration of new methods to improve, optimize, and personalize therapies formed the basis of my work.

My responsibilities also included interacting with other experts in the scientific community through publication of peer-reviewed journal articles, presentations at international conferences, and invited lectures at workshops.

Renal Medical and Scientific Affairs

In my role as a corporate engineer, I worked within a small team of researchers who provided specific expertise in diverse disciplines to support product development within the various divisions of Baxter. I participated in a multitude of projects where I was exposed to a wide range of unique technical problems.

I made my most significant contributions in areas concerning centrifugal separation of blood components, mixing of fluids, emerging sensor technologies, and CFD analysis of blood flow within dialyzers.

Alp Akonur