Office of Technology Management and Advancement

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To better understand how we translate your science into commercial products – watch the 5-minute video:

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The powerful combination of high quality science, an entrepreneurial culture, and strategic partnerships between UCSF’s researchers and Innovation Ventures Office of Technology Management and Advancement (OTMA) has resulted in an impressive track record of commercial successes. We will work with you to evaluate and grow new ideas, devise a commercialization and intellectual property (IP) plan including formation of a start-up, connect your research with appropriate potential internal and external collaborators, and negotiate suitable licenses with appropriate commercialization partners such as existing companies, venture capitalists or other investors.


Services & Programs

Engagement and Opportunity Development 

 

Innovation Ventures New Co Start-Up Services

Engage with Faculty: Working closely with the inventor(s), evaluating technologies, and developing corresponding commercialization plans focusing on new start-up opportunities.

Opportunity Development: Perform market research and actively reach out to a robust network of external partners including business development professionals and venture capitalists (VC) to obtain feedback, raise funding and work together to create a roadmap for developing the technology; 

Grow Your Idea: Planning your next steps to developing a commercially viable product or solution, getting input from industry experts, and identifying gap funding opportunities.

Entrepreneur in Residence Program (EiR):  EiRs offer our academic community the lived experience of the marketplace so that their science can be translated into real-world, commercial opportunities. 

Key Opinion Leaders (KOL): This feedback network is a list of 50+ venture capitalists, pharmaceutical company contacts, entrepreneurs, special area experts, and angel investors whose experience and perspectives are available to support UCSF as we seek better market opportunities for our technologies.

For more information about our strategies and tactics to launch your technology...

Technology Licensing

 

License the Technology: Negotiating complex and customized agreements such as licenses to existing and significantly funded start-up companies, collaborative research agreements, confidentiality disclosure agreements, and material transfer agreements to enable commercial partnerships.

Market the Technology: Actively reaching out to a robust network of external partners including business development professionals and venture capitalists (VC) to match UCSF’s intellectual property assets with their partnering interests, raise funding and work together to create a roadmap for developing the technology; developing and managing on-going industry relationships.

Facilitate External Collaboration 

Partnering with other UCSF groups to attract and develop partnerships with industry, research foundations, etc. to provide expertise, funding, and other resources to further develop technology leading to reduced risk for licensees and increased value for UCSF and inventors.

For Frequently Asked Questions...

 

 

Recent Advances of UCSF NewCos 

 

Part of the mission at the University of California has been to encourage the scientific research conducted here to advance into useful healthcare technologies for the benefit of all who may need them. At our San Francisco campus, it's the Office of Technology Management and Advancement (OTMA) has been tasked with encouraging our academics and researchers to collaborate both internally and externally to launch businesses based on the technologies they developed. OTMA has multiple tools to facilitate startup development. 

See recent advances in UCSF NewCo technologies: 

NewCo Technology

Questions or Comments?

Please feel free to reach out to Anthony Francis, Executive Director of Technology Management at [email protected] or 415 813-7978.


 

Our Team

  • Todd Pazdera, PhD

    Director, Business Development, EOD & Licensing

    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...

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  • Gonzalo Barrera-Hernandez, PhD

    Director, Business Affairs & Strategic Partnerships

    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...

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  • Benjamin Olsen

    Director, Equity Management and Advisory

    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...

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  • David Fung, PhD

    Assistant Director, Business Development & Licensing

    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...

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  • Daniel Abel, JD

    Assistant Director, IP & Business Operations

    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.

  • Heather Pittman, MBA

    Assistant Director, Strategic Projects

    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...

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  • Gemma Rooney, PhD

    Assistant Director, Strategic Partnerships & Licensing

    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...

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  • Kristin Agopian, PhD

    Assistant Director of Business Development & Licensing

    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...

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  • Darya Bubman, PhD

    Assistant Director, Business Development & EOD

    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...

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  • Mike Papac

    Senior Business Development Manager, EOD

    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...

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  • Lorraine Johnson

    Senior Business Development Manager, EOD

    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 &...

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  • Catherine Smith, PhD

    Senior Business Development Manager

    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...

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  • Kathleen Wilson-Edell, PhD

    Senior Business Development Manager, EOD

    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...

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  • Heather Carrico, MS

    License Compliance Manager

    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...

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  • Danielle Casey Callaghan, BA

    IP Project and Compliance Manager

    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.

  • Monica Ravanello

    Senior Strategic Partnerships and IP Manager

    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,...

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  • Marlene Grenon, MD

    Digital Health and AI

    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...

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  • Lindsay Sanford

    Business Development & Licensing Manager

    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...

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  • Lei Wan

    Business Development & Licensing Manager

    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...

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  • Sherri Gini

    Licensing Contracts Officer

    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.

  • Dorin Donohoe

    IP & Business Operations

    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.

  • Danica Scaglione

    IP & Business Operations

    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...

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