Gemma Rooney, PhD

Assistant Director, Strategic Partnerships & Licensing
Office of Technology Management
[email protected]
+1 415 625-9093

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.

 

Publications: 

Human iPS Cell-Derived Neurons Uncover the Impact of Increased Ras Signaling in Costello Syndrome.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

Rooney GE, Goodwin AF, Depeille P, Sharir A, Schofield CM, Yeh E, Roose JP, Klein OD, Rauen KA, Weiss LA, Ullian EM

Dysregulation of astrocyte extracellular signaling in Costello syndrome.

Science translational medicine

Krencik R, Hokanson KC, Narayan AR, Dvornik J, Rooney GE, Rauen KA, Weiss LA, Rowitch DH, Ullian EM

Comparison of cellular architecture, axonal growth, and blood vessel formation through cell-loaded polymer scaffolds in the transected rat spinal cord.

Tissue engineering. Part A

Madigan NN, Chen BK, Knight AM, Rooney GE, Sweeney E, Kinnavane L, Yaszemski MJ, Dockery P, O'Brien T, McMahon SS, Windebank AJ

Lentiviral vector delivery of short hairpin RNA to NG2 and neurotrophin-3 promotes locomotor recovery in injured rat spinal cord.

Cytotherapy

Donnelly EM, Madigan NN, Rooney GE, Knight A, Chen B, Ball B, Kinnavane L, Garcia Y, Dockery P, Fraher J, Strappe PM, Windebank AJ, O'Brien T, McMahon SS

Comparison of polymer scaffolds in rat spinal cord: a step toward quantitative assessment of combinatorial approaches to spinal cord repair.

Biomaterials

Chen BK, Knight AM, Madigan NN, Gross L, Dadsetan M, Nesbitt JJ, Rooney GE, Currier BL, Yaszemski MJ, Spinner RJ, Windebank AJ

Sustained delivery of dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate to the transected spinal cord via oligo [(polyethylene glycol) fumarate] hydrogels.

Tissue engineering. Part A

Rooney GE, Knight AM, Madigan NN, Gross L, Chen B, Giraldo CV, Seo S, Nesbitt JJ, Dadsetan M, Yaszemski MJ, Windebank AJ

Lentiviral vector-mediated knockdown of the NG2 [corrected] proteoglycan or expression of neurotrophin-3 promotes neurite outgrowth in a cell culture model of the glial scar.

The journal of gene medicine

Donnelly EM, Strappe PM, McGinley LM, Madigan NN, Geurts E, Rooney GE, Windebank AJ, Fraher J, Dockery P, O'Brien T, McMahon SS

Engraftment, migration and differentiation of neural stem cells in the rat spinal cord following contusion injury.

Cytotherapy

McMahon SS, Albermann S, Rooney GE, Shaw G, Garcia Y, Sweeney E, Hynes J, Dockery P, O'Brien T, Windebank AJ, Allsopp TE, Barry FP

Importance of the vasculature in cyst formation after spinal cord injury.

Journal of neurosurgery. Spine

Rooney GE, Endo T, Ameenuddin S, Chen B, Vaishya S, Gross L, Schiefer TK, Currier BL, Spinner RJ, Yaszemski MJ, Windebank AJ

Neurotrophic factor-expressing mesenchymal stem cells survive transplantation into the contused spinal cord without differentiating into neural cells.

Tissue engineering. Part A

Rooney GE, McMahon SS, Ritter T, Garcia Y, Moran C, Madigan NN, Flügel A, Dockery P, O'Brien T, Howard L, Windebank AJ, Barry FP

Neural stem cell- and Schwann cell-loaded biodegradable polymer scaffolds support axonal regeneration in the transected spinal cord.

Tissue engineering. Part A

Olson HE, Rooney GE, Gross L, Nesbitt JJ, Galvin KE, Knight A, Chen B, Yaszemski MJ, Windebank AJ

Effect of cyclosporin A on functional recovery in the spinal cord following contusion injury.

Journal of anatomy

McMahon SS, Albermann S, Rooney GE, Moran C, Hynes J, Garcia Y, Dockery P, O'Brien T, Windebank AJ, Barry FP

Relationship between scaffold channel diameter and number of regenerating axons in the transected rat spinal cord.

Acta biomaterialia

Krych AJ, Rooney GE, Chen B, Schermerhorn TC, Ameenuddin S, Gross L, Moore MJ, Currier BL, Spinner RJ, Friedman JA, Yaszemski MJ, Windebank AJ

Rigid fixation of the spinal column improves scaffold alignment and prevents scoliosis in the transected rat spinal cord.

Spine

Rooney GE, Vaishya S, Ameenuddin S, Currier BL, Schiefer TK, Knight A, Chen B, Mishra PK, Spinner RJ, Macura SI, Yaszemski MJ, Windebank AJ

Gene-modified mesenchymal stem cells express functionally active nerve growth factor on an engineered poly lactic glycolic acid (PLGA) substrate.

Tissue engineering. Part A

Rooney GE, Moran C, McMahon SS, Ritter T, Maenz M, Flügel A, Dockery P, O'Brien T, Howard L, Windebank AJ, Barry FP