When Beth Ann Baber found out that her 15-month-old son, Nicholas Conor, had a high-risk neuroblastoma tumor surrounding the vital organs in his chest, she didn't need anyone to explain what that meant. She and her husband, Nick, were both scientists working in the field of cancer biology, and they knew that this was the worst possible news.

Baber also knew that although much progress was being made in pediatric cancer research, many promising new treatments were not reaching the marketplace due to lack of funding.

After three rounds of chemotherapy, Conor's tumor shrunk enough to allow for surgery to remove it from his chest and spine. February 2011 will mark four years since Conor successfully ended his chemotherapy. While she was relieved by the positive outcome, the ordeal caused Baber to lose her passion for scientific research. She knew that due to a lack of funding and research focused on pediatric cancer, her young son was treated with 30-year-old chemotherapy designed for adults. She wanted to start her own institute that would accelerate laboratory discoveries into individualized treatment programs for children with cancer.

There was only one problem. "I was scared to death," Baber said, "because I had no business background, and I was trying to write a business plan."

Looking for an MBA program with a flexible schedule and an emphasis on science, Baber discovered UC San Diego's Rady School of Management and entered its FlexMBA program.

Founded in 2004, the Rady School of Management is a newcomer to the 50-year-old university.

"The Rady School is an infant—a start-up. In the last 50 years, UCSD has become one of the most significant research campuses in the world. Our goal is to create leaders and managers who can take these scientific discoveries and make an impact on people's lives," said Dr. Robert Sullivan, the school's dean.

It was in Rady's signature course series, Lab to Market, that Baber developed a new model for pediatric cancer research. Lab to Market is a three-course sequence that teaches students how to use the tools of their MBA education to generate and validate new ideas, evolve ideas into scalable products and services, and evaluate business models.

"I was sitting in a Lab to Market lecture about incubators, and I realized that instead of building a traditional brick and mortar institute, which would require $300 million to build, I could find industry partners and use available lab space caused by layoffs and reduce my start-up costs to $30 million," said Baber.

This intersection of business and science is what sets Rady apart from other business schools.

"We attract individuals with science and technology backgrounds who are also entrepreneurs," said Dr. Sullivan. "They are bilingual and bicultural, which means they speak the language of science and understand its culture. They are credible in both worlds."

Armed with her MBA from Rady, Baber founded The Nicholas Conor Institute (TNCI), a nonprofit medical research organization focused on identifying and developing innovative therapies and original approaches to treating childhood cancer. To reduce overhead and save time, TNCI partners with for-profit companies to translate and accelerate laboratory discoveries into individualized treatment programs for children with cancer. Baber developed a cooperative model that partners with other research institutes, focusing on orphan conditions. This specific, targeted focus saves much-needed time and directs money and resources to neglected areas.

"Instead of taking 10 days, tests can be done in four hours, with 99 percent accuracy," says Baber. "By sharing laboratory space, equipment, reagents, personnel, data, and expertise, we lower business and market development costs associated with bringing these therapies to market." Called hybrid venture philanthropy, this form of cooperative funding uses a blend of charitable funds to tackle a single initiative or goal.

Since the first students completed their program in 2006, Rady alumni have gone on to create start-ups and help larger companies reinvent themselves to adapt to the changing marketplace. In addition to their FlexMBA program, which allows students to complete their MBA on nights and weekends, Rady offers a full-time MBA, a Ph.D. program, undergraduate classes, and programs for professionals in a nondegree format through The Center for Executive Development.