Technology & Business Development

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  IP Portfolio Specialist
  Denlyn Atherton
  Denlyn is Senior Patent Administrator and Patent Coordinator at Harvard University’s Office of Technology Development. Since 2011, she has been providing administrative support for all Institute IP portfolios. She has over 10 years experience in technology transfer. She has also worked as Licensing Associate at Montana State University, Bozeman.
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  Director of Technology Commercialization
  Erika Bechtold, Ph.D.
  Erika joined the Harvard University Office of Technology Development in 2018. She works closely with the faculty, staff, and business teams at the Wyss Institute to commercialize their ideas and inventions through strategic partnerships. Erika was previously the Director of Product Planning and Strategy at Sofregen Medical Inc., a Tufts University spin-out developing injectable products...
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  Business Development Lead
  William Blake, Ph.D.
  Will joined the Wyss Institute to guide strategy and business development in the areas of cellular engineering and synthetic biology.  Previously, Will was on the founding team of GreenLight Biosciences where he led the development of novel cell-free manufacturing technologies and scientific partnership strategy as Vice President of Research and Development.  Prior to that, Will...
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  Entrepreneur-in-Residence
  Frank Bobe, M.B.A, Ph.D.
  Frank joined the Wyss Institute in 2014 and is working on start-up opportunities in the biotechnology area. Prior, he held CEO positions in various biotechnology companies, including Seres Health, a human microbiome company founded by Flagship Ventures, SpringLeaf Therapeutics, a drug – device combination product company spun out of MIT and BioAxone Therapeutic, Inc., a...
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  Senior Associate Director of Intellectual Property
  Jay Culverwell, J.D.
  Jay manages the patent portfolio of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard. Jay works closely with the Wyss investigators and business teams to develop strategic patent estates around emerging technologies. Prior to joining Harvard, Jay was a partner in the Boston office of K&L Gates LLP, where his practice focused on patent...
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  Director of Platform Development
  Robert Cunningham
  Bob is responsible for implementing the Institute’s technology-translation strategy for the Adaptive Material Technologies Platform. Having led business development efforts for a venture-financed microfluidics company, Bob also lends his microfluidics expertise to the Biomimetic Microsystems platform. He brings expertise in product development, grant and venture capital financing, and business development in numerous medical device and...
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  Senior Associate Director of Technology Transactions
  Kat Holliday, J.D.
  Kat assists the Wyss Institute with the negotiation of technology transactions.  Kat has twenty years’ experience representing venture capital firms and emerging technology companies in financings, recapitalizations, mergers and acquisitions and intellectual property contractual matters.  Prior to joining Harvard, Kat had her own practice representing companies working on grid-level energy storage, underwater drones and advanced...
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  Entrepreneur-in-Residence
  Tina Liu, M.B.A.
  Tina joined the Wyss Institute in 2017 and is working with George Church and Ying Kai Chan to develop safer and more efficacious gene therapies. Prior, Tina was a private equity investor at TPG Capital, where she evaluated potential investments generally $1Bn+ in size across commercial pharma and other sectors of the healthcare industry. Before...
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  Business Development Lead
  Jessica McDonough, Ph.D.
  Jessica joined the Wyss Institute in 2014. Prior to joining the Wyss, Jessica worked at Decision Resources as a Principal consultant. She worked with top pharmaceutical and biotech companies on over fifty engagements including topics such as therapeutic area landscapes, opportunity assessments, and valuations focusing on both the major and emerging markets. Jessica holds a...