Eric Makhni

Home town: Ft. Pierce, Fla.
Undergraduate education: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Eric first started taking classes in finance and economics while a junior at MIT, with the goal of learning the basics. However, this goal turned into something much more substantial, and he soon found himself delving deeper into the curriculum and supplementing this work with research in management science. He found the art of entrepreneurship to be particularly fascinating, and his experiences in starting a venture of his own led him to pursue the joint MD/MBA program here at Harvard.

Trying to start a company from the ground up
The decision to start a company while still in medical school was not an easy one, given the rigors of such a curriculum. Nevertheless, Eric decided to try his luck as an entrepreneur with his first company, VeritasMD (formerly MoneyforStudy, Inc.). Stemming from his own experiences in clinical research, VeritasMD was formed with the hopes of improving the efficiency of the recruitment process for this type of research and bringing it to an online forum. Eric is hopeful that the knowledge base he builds at HBS will help him not only with his current venture, but also with any future endeavors that he may pursue.

Maintaining a commitment to research
Research has always played an integral role in Eric’s curriculum, both at MIT and now at Harvard. His first forays into research were at MIT in the fields of cancer genetics and biochemistry. His interests later shifted to pharmaceuticals, and he began researching the growth and development of the industry. Once at HMS, Eric began conducting clinical research in hand surgery at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He hopes to one day be involved in orthopedic-device ventures and will no doubt incorporate clinical research into these aspirations.