Director, Business Affairs & Strategic Partnerships
Office of Technology Management
I joined UCSF in 2012, following 12 ½ years at the office of Innovation, Alliances & Services (IAS) (formerly known as the Office of Technology Transfer) at the UC Office of the President, where I was responsible for all IP management and technology licensing matters of a life-sciences portfolio of technologies from several UC campuses. While at IAS I was also responsible for the first UC System Proof-of-Concept Fund, the UC System-Wide Technology Transfer Forum Program, the Technology Transfer Annual Report for the UC System, and for managing for the UC System the approval process for the acceptance of equity in licensing transactions. Prior to joining UC, I worked in technology transfer for 2 years, on detail, at the NIH.
I received my Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Calgary, Canada, where my research focused on gene regulation in Diabetes mellitus. My postdoctoral research at the NCI-NIH focused on the role of the thyroid hormone receptor in cell cycle regulation and on the mechanism controlling the switch from cell cycle regulation to differentiation. I received a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
I am passionate about helping UCSF achieve its mission of advancing health worldwide through partnerships with industry, and by working closely with faculty to commercialize UCSF inventions.
Ben is responsible for the acquisition, management, and disposition of equity in UCSF start-up companies. With more than $200M in equity under management across almost 100 companies, UCSF continues to be a leader in start-up development.
Ben’s career has included time at Deloitte, Morgan Stanley, a technology seed fund (TTCF), and various start-ups including eight years as CEO of a medical device company founded with university IP which he exited in 2019 to Samvardhana Motherson Group.
Ben holds a Master of Science in Technology Commercialization from the University of Adelaide.
Todd has over 15 years of business development and licensing experience and is currently the director of BD and Licensing in Innovation Ventures at UCSF. Todd leads both the EOD and Licensing teams which are engaged in identifying, prioritizing, developing and partnering UCSF innovations. Todd and his teams also lead efforts to cultivate and launch new startups based on UCSF discoveries. Todd received his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Cell and Structural biology from the University of Illinois.
Dan joined the OTM in March 2006, and is currently responsible for managing patent prosecution, agreement compliance, government reporting, case finances, and the operating budget. Dan earned both his B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa) and J.D. degrees from the University of Florida.
Assistant Director of Business Development & Licensing
Office of Technology Management
Kristin has over 10 years of business development and licensing experience. She is currently Licensing Team Lead for Therapeutics and Diagnostics within Innovation Ventures. She works closely with UCSF researchers to prioritize, develop, and partner their innovations for commercial development. Her portfolio includes therapeutics, diagnostics, and medical devices.
Kristin holds a Ph.D. in Virology from Harvard University and an A.B. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University. She also has experience in business strategy consulting in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical space and in science and technology policy at the National Academies.
In her role on the Engagement and Opportunity Development (EOD) team of UCSF’s OTM, Darya evaluates novel UCSF inventions for market opportunity, identifies technologies that a start-up company could be built around, works on developing business opportunities for such promising new ventures and negotiates start-up licenses. Darya is also the lead for developing and maintaining the EOD Key Opinion Leader network of early-stage investors and industry as well as the EOD EiR Program.
Darya joined OTM in November 2011. She earned a B.A. degree in Biochemistry from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York City. She conducted her doctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Ethel Cesarman, studying deregulation of cancer signaling pathways by the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) in primary effusion lymphoma, a rare cancer that occurs in immunocompromised individuals. Following her graduate studies, Darya became an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow and worked at the U.S. State Department on international issues related to biomedical IP, access to medicines and innovation. Prior to joining the OTM, she worked as a Technology Partnerships Manager for biomedical inventions at the NASA Ames Research Center located at Moffett Field, CA. Darya has a strong background in molecular biology, oncology and pharmacology.
Darya is passionate about working with UCSF faculty and staff to nurture new venture opportunities that have the potential to improve health on a global scale and change the world for the better.
Heather joined the UCSF Office of Technology Management (OTM) in October 2013. She handles case and license agreement compliance, including analysis of license agreements for diligence and financial terms and interpretation, reporting and enforcement.
Prior to joining OTM, she was at Stanford University’s Office of Technology Management for eight years. Heather earned her MS degree from University of San Francisco and her BA from San Jose State University.
Danielle is primarily responsible for handling the intake of invention disclosures and compliance with federal and non-profit sponsor reporting obligations. Danielle also contributes to various projects for OTM, which she joined in May 2016.
Dorin joins OTMA with several years of experience in intellectual property formerly as a Licensing Analyst at UC Santa Barbara. She has a BS from Cornell University and a MS in Nutritional Biochemistry from UC Berkeley. As an IP Operations Manager within OTMA, Dorin will be primarily responsible for patent prosecution, patent maintenance, and federal reporting.
Assistant Director, Business Development & Licensing
Office of Technology Management
David manages intellectual property arising from research conducted at UCSF. He works with faculty and staff to evaluate new inventions and to develop appropriate IP strategies, with the goal of commercialization of the technology through licensing, whether to established companies or to new ventures.
David has more than ten years’ experience in academic technology transfer, first at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and then at Yale University. Prior to that, he was with PricewaterhouseCoopers serving its biotech and tech clients. His Ph.D. is in biophysics from Harvard University, and he has master’s and bachelor’s degrees in physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Stanford University respectively.
David is enthusiastic about working with faculty and other researchers to commercialize new technology for the benefit of the public.
Sherri has a B.S. in Speech Pathology and a J.D. from Lincoln Law School in Sacramento, and joins OTMA with several years of experience in intellectual property, including most recently as a Principal IP Analyst at UC Davis. As a Licensing Contracts Officer within OTMA, Sherri will be primarily responsible for Material Transfer Agreements, Bailments, and Inter-Institutional Agreements.
Dr. Marlene Grenon is a practicing physician, scientist and entrepreneur. She currently holds the role of Director of Digital Health at UCSF Innovation Ventures and Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Surgery at UCSF, where she practices vascular medicine. Dr. Grenon has served as the Chief Medical Officer of Evry Health, as a vascular surgeon at the VAMC San Francisco and has an Adjunct Faculty at the International Space University. She has published over 70 peer-reviewed publications. She has more than 20 years of experience in the health care industry and has been the lead investigator for clinical trials funded by the NIH and NASA/NSBRI.
Dr. Grenon holds an MD from McGill University, a MMSc from Harvard Medical School, an MBA from Brown University and IE Business School, and a diploma in Space Sciences from the International Space University. She completed a residency in cardiac surgery (McGill) and fellowships in vascular surgery (University of British Columbia), endovascular surgery (Arizona Heart Institute) and aerospace medicine research (Harvard/MIT). She has also held roles in the aerospace medicine community including with NASA and the FAA. She is a diplomate of the American Board of Vascular Medicine, a fellow from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) with Certificate of Specialist in both cardiac and vascular surgery. She advises start-ups in the Bay Area with a focus on digital health and serves as an expert consultant to the American Medical Association on matters of digital health and AI.
Lorraine Johnson joined the UCSF Office of Technology Management and Advancement in January 2021 as a manager of Engagement and Opportunity Development. In her role, Lorraine focuses on evaluating inventions and commercial opportunities in the areas of devices, diagnostics, and digital health. Lorraine comes to UCSF from Industry and has spent more than 20 years commercializing medical devices and digital health platforms with Johnson & Johnson and several start-ups.
Mike currently lives in the Orange County area and comes to us with significant business development, strategy, product development, and operations experience, at large to mid-sized companies and with start-ups. Mike was most recently with Optovue where he served as the VP of Strategic Planning and Innovation. Prior to Optovue, Mike was with Alcon for 15 years. Mike had several roles at Alcon including the lead on the development of a white space strategy to expand Alcon’s portfolio in new therapeutic areas, head of surgical glaucoma R&D, and the research head for vitreoretinal instrumentation. He has been responsible for moving several products through the development and commercialization process.
Mike has a Ph.D. from UC Irvine in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and is an inventor with over 42 patents.
Heather is responsible for the negotiation and ongoing support of strategic partnering agreements and master agreements for UCSF Innovation Ventures. She is focused on supporting those researchers, partners, and companies looking to engage in the UCSF research enterprise. Heather also manages software and tangible research property portfolios and non-exclusive licensing activity, advises on contractual intellectual property matters, analyzes and interprets research and intellectual property policies, and serves as liaison on behalf of the Office of Technology Management for other units.
Prior to arriving at UCSF in April 2018, Heather negotiated on behalf of UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and University of California Office of the President. Heather earned dual MBA-MA degrees from Claremont Graduate University, a member of the Claremont Colleges.
I am excited to have joined the Office of Technology Management (OTM) in June 2020 as a Strategic Partnerships Officer. In this capacity I work closely with the UCSF faculty and researchers to capture and protect Intellectual Property arising from novel research collaborations.
I earned a Ph.D. in Virology/Microbiology from Oregon State University and a B.A. in Biology from University of Oregon. After two post-doctoral fellowships, the first one at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center focused on Human Papillomavirus and an NSF-fellowship at UC Davis working on plant viruses I had a longstanding career at legacy Monsanto Company/Bayer Crop Science. During my time there I was first a researcher in Ag biotechnology and subsequently worked on Intellectual Property (IP) for both the Ag Biotech and the Global Chemistry Organizations. In addition, my IP experience was substantiated by working for a small startup company focused on manufacturing green plastics through chemistry. I am thrilled to be contributing to UCSF’s mission of advancing health through translating science and commercializing technology.
Gemma has been sourcing and executing high value deals on UCSF’s innovative technologies since 2014, when she first joined the office. She is currently responsible for managing UCSF’s alliances with the ‘Parker Institute of Cancer Immunology’ and 'Chan Zuckerberg Biohub'. An integral part of this role is determining the commercial and patenting strategy of the University’s intellectual property, engaging with faculty, building and nurturing new relationships with internal stakeholders, industry partners and early stage investors, and negotiating license agreements.
Gemma holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Stem Cell Biology from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and a B.Sc. in Neuroscience from University College Cork, Ireland. She received postdoctoral training from the University of California, San Francisco and the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Her research focused on neurological applications of stem cell therapies.
Gemma is passionate about guiding UCSF investigators in realizing the fullest commercial potential of their innovations. She believes in working collaboratively to find solutions to problems and drive progress. She loves working at the interface between academia and industry, establishing partnerships that have the potential to benefit patients worldwide.
Lindsay serves as business development and licensing manager within Innovation Ventures, helping UCSF faculty members and inventors protect intellectual property that arises from their research. She works with faculty and staff to develop appropriate protection strategies that support the commercialization of innovative technologies through licensing to both startups and established companies.
Lindsay holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Washington State University and is an Honors College alumna. She received an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Amherst's Isenberg School of Management and obtained her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Utah where her research focused on developing instrumentation and algorithms for faster PCR and more accurate high-resolution DNA melting. After completing her Ph.D., Lindsay worked in healthcare and industry, first at Baylor Scott & White Health and then at Canon as a Senior Scientist/Engineer within R&D and Product Development. Before transitioning to her current role at UCSF, Lindsay worked as a Licensing Director for Engineering within Technology Commercialization Services at the University of Connecticut.
Danica joined UCSF’s Office of Technology Management in August 2022. In her role as IP Operations Manager, she handles invention case intake, sponsor compliance, processing of material transfer agreements, and royalty reports. Prior to joining UCSF, Danica worked at UCLA’s Technology Development Group for four years as their first Post Execution Contracts Manager. Her position ensured consistent management of TDG’s contracts and was responsible for ensuring TDG’s IP-related agreements were properly entered into the organizational databases and securely maintained. Danica also worked to monitor contractual performance of licensees and audit general agreement compliance, including equity issuance, and progress and royalty reports. Prior to her joining UCLA, Danica worked as a Licensing Manager in the toy industry. Danica attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania, and has a B.A. in Communication Studies. She also has a Paralegal Certificate from UCLA Extension.
In her role as a Licensing Associate for UCSF’s Innovation Ventures, Cathy is responsible for managing the University’s diverse intellectual property disclosures and assisting in licensing transactions. Cathy joined the office in early 2016 and is enthusiastic about aiding faculty and staff in translating their scientific discoveries for the public benefit through commercial partnerships.
Cathy did her PhD at Columbia University and a post-doctoral fellowship at Ludwig Cancer Research– both focused on understanding the DNA damage response through biochemical, genetic, and molecular biology approaches.
Lei manages intellectual property, identifies market opportunities, and licenses technologies developed at UCSF.
Lei joined UCSF in the February of 2022. Before that, Lei was a technology transfer associate at Augusta University. She was responsible for patent portfolio management, business development, and licensing negotiation. Lei completed her PhD and Postdoctoral training at The Ohio State University and the University of Michigan respectively. Her research focused on signaling pathways and the treatment of cancer.
Lei is enthusiastic about working with UCSF inventors, transferring research from the bench to the bedside, and advancing the impact of breakthrough discoveries at UCSF.
Kathy has ten years of business development experience in university settings, both at UCSF and Stanford, where she sourced and executed several high-value licenses and managed various industry collaborations. Kathy is passionate about working with faculty members and industry partners to forge paths for startup formation with the goal of bringing new technologies to the public domain. Prior to joining the technology transfer field, Kathy obtained a PhD in Genetics at Yale and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, where her research focused on the roles of histone deacetylase inhibitors and ribosomal proteins in breast cancer. She received her AB in Biology from Cornell.
