AUTM Special Interest Groups focus on specific areas of
interest within the technology transfer field. The groups meet in person
during the AUTM Annual Meeting, and facilitators may choose to hold
additional meetings according to SIG members' needs. Contact
facilitators to learn more about specific SIGs.
Attorneys
Legal professionals discuss current legal issues relevant to university
technology transfer.
Facilitator: Greg Howell
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
ghowell@jhsph.edu
Bryce Pilz
University of Michigan
bpilz@umich.edu
AUTM/BIO
The AUTM/BIO SIG discussions focus on public policy issues in the areas
of effective public-private partnerships, strong intellectual property
protection, and fostering innovation and research. Participants also
discuss how AUTM and BIO can work together on mutually beneficial
programs.
Facilitators: Adrian R. Cyhan
J.D., Foley & Lardner LLP
acyhan@foley.com
Lila Feisee
Biotechnology Industry Organization
lfeisee@bio.org
Steve Maebius
J.D., Foley & Larder LLP
smaebius@foley.com
Biotech Patenting
This SIG reviews important biotechnology patenting court cases, analyzes
trends in the patent office that affect biotechnology patenting and
discusses issues that inventors and universities face when applying for
patents on biotechnological inventions.
Facilitator: Benjamin A. Adler, Ph.D., J.D.
Adler & Associates
badler1@houstron.rr.com
Building University-Industry Collaborations
Around Existing Technologies
This SIG focuses on innovative approaches for pairing university skills
and talents to industry for the purpose of advancing corporate
early-stage technologies and profit from their results. The group also
considers alternative approaches such as linking university technologies
to investment firms that are able to supply a consistent flow of
evaluation and seed money to promising inventions.
Facilitator: M. Guven Yalcintas, Ph.D.
Research Foundation of SUNY
Guven.yalcintas@rfsuny.org
Career Development in Technology
Transfer
Topics of discussion include: skills necessary to get a job in
technology transfer, relevant education, necessary experience,
technology transfer as preparation for a position in industry, and
moving from industry to academic technology transfer.
Facilitators: Marc Sedam
Qualyst Inc.
marcsedam@qualyst.com
Christopher A. Willson, Ph.D.
Nationwide Children's Hospital
christopher.willson@nationwidechildrens.org
Foundations that Provide Technology Transfer to
Universities
This SIG serves as a forum for the discussion of issues relating to
foundations set up for technology licensing from parent academic
institutions.
Facilitator: Andrew Cohn
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
cohn@warf.org
Innovation-Based Economic Development
Communities worldwide are looking to universities as potential
engines of economic growth. The Regional Economic Development SIG
provides AUTM members with an opportunity to share information, insights
and best practices for this increasingly important facet of technology
transfer.
Facilitator: Eleanor Taylor
Scottish Enterprise
eleanor.taylor@scotent.co.uk
International Members
Non-North American members review the achievements and services AUTM
provides members around the world.
Facilitator: Lily Chan
NUS Enterprise
lilychan@nus.edu.sg
International Technology Transfer
Surveys
This SIG is intended to form the basis for an ongoing worldwide group of
cooperating organizations that are conducting or planning to conduct
surveys that collect data about technology transfer activity.
Facilitator: Ashley Stevens, Ph.D.
Boston University
astevens@bu.edu
Material Transfer Agreements
Discusses challenges and solutions relating to agreements covering the
exchange of research materials between academic institutions or
companies and academic institutions. Members of the MTA SIG are a
resource to help members of the research community develop solutions to
facilitate the exchange of proprietary materials in a manner that
addresses the needs of providers and recipients and advances the global
research enterprise.
The MTA SIG currently has two working groups
-the eMTA Commmons group which is working to create a universal,
web-based MTA management system
-the Negotiations Issues group which is actively engaging in finding
solutions to common negotiation issues between institutions and
industry.
MTA SIG Facilitator: Stephen Harsy
University of Wisconsin Madison
harsy@wisc.edu
eMTA Commons Group: Larry Couture
Center for Applied Technology Development Beckman Research Institute of
City of Hope
lcouture@coh.org
Microfluidics Licensing
Focuses on issues associated with licensing microfluidic technologies
and addresses questions related to marketing, education and networking
and best strategies for patenting.
Facilitator: Nadia Sifri, M.S.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
nadia@warf.org
Pharmaceutical Patenting
This group addresses concerns relating to patenting and licensing new
drugs, diagnostics, screening methods and methods of medical treatment,
including patent office strategy in view of recent case law and new U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office policies and rules.
Facilitator: Warren D. Woessner, Ph.D.
Schwegman Lundberg Woessner & Kluth PA
wwoessner@slwk.com
Plant and Plant Variety Protection Act
Issues
This SIG is for people interested in licensing and managing intellectual
property dealing with all aspects of plants, PVP and UPOV protection,
and the relevant and varied angles that are contemplated when licensing
this kind of intellectual property.
Facilitator: To Be Announced
Proposed PTO Rule Changes
On January 3, 2006, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published two
new pending rule change proposals for public comments. This SIG
discusses the change rules, their potential impact and possible actions
in response to the proposals.
Facilitator: Ronald E. Eisenstein, J.D.
Nixon Peabody LLP
REISENSTEIN@nixonpeabody.com
Social Media in Technology Transfer
As the technology developed within our
leading research universities becomes increasingly complex,
interdisciplinary and applicable to a diverse set of markets, the task
to evaluate the effectiveness of the IP and the market course and window
for commercialization becomes more challenging. There is a
plethora of resources ready and able to assist in assessing and
surmounting these hurdles as well as providing the funding and
experienced management required helping successfully navigate early
stage companies.
The question is how you amass these globally distributed resources. The use of social media and web 2.0 technologies as a means to spread awareness and build communities of experts is successfully being used in several industries. For technology transfer, you can use these tools and techniques to build awareness internally within the University community around innovation, the tech transfer process, and success stories. To help with evaluation and commercialization, an external community of experts is needed This community can provide the deep industry expertise to evaluate market potential for licensing IP and potential for commercial spin-outs as well as general business/management knowledge to drive the process of commercialization.
Facilitator: Robert Wooldridge
Carnegie Mellon University
raw@cmu.edu
Software/Multimedia
An information source for those who are either engaged in or wish to
learn more about the marketing and licensing of computer software and
multimedia works.
Facilitator: Paul R. Betten, Ph.D.
Argonne National Laboratory
betten@anl.gov
Technology Managers for Global
Health
Technology Managers for Global Health (TMGH) was formed in 2003 as a
Special Interest Group within the Association of University Technology
Managers (AUTM) and serves as a resource and support network for
professionals to more effectively manage inventions and technologies
that address treatments for neglected tropical diseases and other
afflictions widely prevalent among the poorer populations in low- and
middle-income countries. Our annual SIG meetings have routinely
attracted about 40-50 energetic technology transfer professionals
interested in teaming up to advance global health causes. Visit www.tmgh.org for further
information.
Facilitator: Usha R. Balakrishnan
CARTHA
cartha.global@gmail.com
The One Big Idea: Identifying the Most Critical
Aspect in Running Your Small Office Technology Transfer Office
SIG participants have the opportunity to discuss issues unique
to small technology transfer offices and network with fellow AUTM
members who face the same challenges.
Facilitator: Vincie C. Albritton, M.B.A.
Clemson University
valbrit@clemson.edu
Translational Research
Translational research is a rapidly growing research area, and the role
for Universities is steadily increasing. Translational research demands
a lot of resources from technology transfer offices. This forum will
discuss the issues arising from this field and how to best structure and
advice translational research programs and centers on intellectual
property.
Facilitator: Mikael C. Herlevsen, Ph.D.
University of Virginia Patent Foundation
mikael@uvapf.org
University - Industry Relations
This Special Interest Group provides structure for capturing
and sharing the interests, suggestions, comments, advice, and expertise
of AUTM members working at the university-industry interface. The goals
are to encourage a lively, thought-provoking discussion; to convey
information gathered to the AUTM membership and Board of Trustees; and
to inform the direction of university-industry relations activities.
Facilitator: Charles Valauskas
Valauskas & Pine LLC
ccv@vp-law.com
University/Federal Laboratories
Seeks to improve understanding of critical technology transfer issues
and communication between federal laboratories and academic
institutions, with emphasis on “deferred compensation”
(i.e., equity) in licenses to startup companies.
Facilitator: Chris Jansen, Ph.D.
Chris Jansen Associates
christina.jansen@nrl.navy.mil
Venture Capital and Technology
Transfer
SIG participants discuss the intersection and interaction between
early-stage investors and technology transfer individuals. The goal is
to learn from one another’s successes and mistakes as they relate
to specific transactions and deal terms.
Facilitators: Rick Holdren
Appraisal and Mentor Group LLC
rholdren@houston.rr.com
Christopher Rand
TriStar Tech Ventures
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