Scientists invest years and decades in research discoveries that may lead to important life-saving technologies that benefit humanity. However, many of these researchers may not be familiar with determining whether their ideas can be turned into a viable product and made sellable. Educational programs such as the National Science Foundation I-Corps Program and I-RED from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the NIH support this shift toward faculty gaining greater entrepreneurship knowledge. These programs provide additional preparation for faculty, particularly in specialized business information and entrepreneurial skills. Despite the importance of commercialization training, few post-doctoral and faculty members in life sciences receive formal education in intellectual property, entrepreneurship, and research commercialization. Accordingly, this article aims to provide a guide to help start or facilitate the entrepreneurial journey to support the commercialization of their creative outputs. The article provides a timeline of events from idea discovery to technology commercialization, translating academic skills into entrepreneurial careers, understanding the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and discussing the pros and cons of entrepreneurship for scientists. The article emphasizes the need for academic researchers to gain knowledge in research commercialization and entrepreneurship to impact and benefit humanity beyond the laboratory.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12919-026-00383-3.

Africa bears a disproportionate burden of infectious disease outbreaks and antimicrobial resistance, compounded by weaknesses in public health laboratory systems. In line with its mandate to safeguard public health, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) supports its Member States in strengthening public health laboratory capacity. However, gaps in laboratory leadership continue to threaten the resilience and sustainability of these systems. To address this need, Africa CDC convened a Laboratory Leadership Workshop under the Africa Pathogen Genomics Initiative (Africa PGI) - DETECT Project from 27-29 August 2025 in Mombasa, Kenya. The meeting brought together 24 heads of public health and reference laboratories and senior technical experts from 15 Member States. Combining expert presentations, country case studies, and roundtable discussions, participants examined system-level challenges affecting laboratory performance. Workshop proceedings were synthesized according to the predefined thematic areas that guided the workshop discussions, drawing on rapporteurs' reports and validated through participant review. Key issues included overreliance on external funding, fragile procurement and supply chains, limited equipment servicing, weak sample referral networks, fragmented data systems, and inadequate contingency planning. Comparative country experiences showed that stronger domestic financing and institutionalized leadership structures were linked to greater operational continuity. Emerging innovations such as hybrid decentralization of diagnostic services and integrated sample referral networks were discussed, with success contingent on strengthened leadership in strategic planning, resource mobilization, and cross-sector coordination. The workshop identified cross-cutting priorities, including financial independence, sustainable equipment servicing, quality management, One Health-aligned digital interoperability, and leadership networks for building resilient systems. The meeting concluded that beyond infrastructure, Africa's epidemic preparedness depends on empowered and committed leaders capable of overcoming challenges to steer resilient and sustainable laboratory systems.

On July 9, 2025, the Midwest Pediatric Device Consortium hosted its second showcase at the MidTown Collaboration Center in Cleveland, OH. This meeting convened clinicians, engineers, regulators, entrepreneurs, and policy stakeholders to discuss the challenges and opportunities in pediatric medical device development. The program included expert panel discussions addressing value demonstration in healthcare, data-driven post market surveillance, cybersecurity risk and data protection, artificial intelligence, clinical algorithms, and pediatric-specific considerations. This culminated in a pitch competition focused on Software as a Medical Device. This manuscript provides a descriptive summary of the meeting proceedings and synthesizes themes that emerged from panel discussions. The themes underscored the persistent structural barriers in pediatric device development, including alignment of value across stakeholders, limitations of real-world evidence infrastructure, data security challenges, and complexities in artificial intelligence driven technologies. These proceedings are intended to inform clinicians, innovators, and policymakers engaged in pediatric medical device development rather than serve as a formal program evaluation.

The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly advancing, and AI tools are being integrated into many aspects of daily life, including medical care and public health. The full extent to which AI related tools can be implemented in order to strengthen health systems are a matter of continued debate. The Center for International Health at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität's (CIHLMU) 2025 student-led symposium on "The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Health Systems Strengthening to Achieve One Health" deliberated on the transformative potential of AI in global health. The primary focus of the symposium was to explore how AI can be leveraged to strengthen health systems. Presentations were delivered by health experts on AI from Africa and Europe. The event provided a platform for experts and students to discuss how AI can be harnessed to improve healthcare delivery, disease surveillance, and research. Discussions resonated around AI health-related research, responsible AI integration, advocacy for AI-related policies, and challenges associated with AI integration in health, such as data privacy and the need for robust governance frameworks. Emphasis was placed on the importance of context-specific implementation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and robust governance to ensure AI's responsible integration into One Health approaches. The symposium concluded that AI holds immense promise to strengthen health systems by improving efficiency, equity, and responsiveness. However, ethical, infrastructural, and regulatory challenges must be addressed, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

In a context of increasing efforts towards the establishment of a Regional Health Data Hub for the African Region, the 2024 West African Policy Dialogue brought together researchers and policymakers from seven West African countries in a two-day meeting in Aburi, Ghana. This report provides a high-level summary of the discussions at the meeting. The forum emphasized that the use of poor, incomplete, or inaccurate data will have negative consequences, regardless of the sophistication of the analytic tools used. New technologies have emerged that can support the generation and effective use of data. Yet, governments in West-Africa struggle to maximize the benefits of these technologies, including genomic surveillance, real-time data generation, and supranational data integration and exchange. Policies are needed that support and regulate new technologies and contribute to greater capabilities for better data.