OTT - Key Persons
Asher is a Marketing Specialist in office and is responsible for the marketing and branding in the office as well as technology marketing. She works closely with leadership and takes the lead for marketing and branding of the office. Specific activities include social media strategy, infographics, annual reports, infographics, blog posts, and featured innovations. Asher joined the office in 2023.
Job Titles:
- Licensing Associate
- Senior Licensing Associate
Catherine is a Licensing Associate and is responsible for case management for Emory intellectual property. Case management involves evaluating and licensing inventions made by faculty. Specific activities include identifying technologies with commercial applications; evaluating the commercial potential of inventions; identifying potential licensees; and drafting and negotiating license agreements and other types of agreements such as interinstitutional and nondisclosure agreements. She also oversees the licensing track for students and interns. Catherine joined the office in 2021.
David is a Licensing Associate and is responsible for case management for Emory intellectual property. Case management involves evaluating and licensing inventions made by faculty. Specific activities include identifying technologies with commercial applications; evaluating the commercial potential of inventions; identifying potential licensees; and drafting and negotiating license agreements and other types of agreements such as interinstitutional and nondisclosure agreements. David joined the office in 2020 as a Contract Specialist before being promoted to a Licensing Associate.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President for Research / Research Administration
Job Titles:
- Assistant Contract Specialist
Enid is an Assistant Contract Specialist in the office. She is responsible for ensuring the accurate intake and close out Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Data Use Agreements (DUAs), and New Invention Disclosures. She also provides administrative support for the unfunded contracts team and ensures the completeness and accuracy of these agreements and disclosures. Enid joined the office in 2023.
Enid has served in a number of administrative and managerial positions during her 33-year tenure at Emory University. She started in the Emory University School of Dentistry, worked in the Rollins School of Public Health, the Emory University School of Medicine, and the Office of Research Administration before joining OTT.. Enid's hometown is Atlanta, Georgia.
Freda is a Contract Specialist in the office. She is responsible for negotiating and executing unfunded contracts. She manages, negotiates, and executes unfunded research related contracts such as Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs), Data Use/Transfer Agreements (DUA/DTA), Collaborative Research Agreements (CRAs), and Non-Disclosure Agreements (CDA, RDA, NDA). Freda joined the office in 2020.
Jim is Patent Counsel with the Emory Patent Group. He has over two decades of experience pursing patent rights internationally and at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and specializes in patents to pharmaceutical, chemical, and life science technologies. He provides intellectual property counseling to OTT staff and faculty, prosecutes U.S. matters including many successful PTAB board appeals, and instructs overseas counsel on patent preparation and prosecution matters. He also oversees a patent track internship for law and life science graduate students. Jim joined the office in 2010. Prior to Emory, he worked for AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals and the intellectual property firm of Medlen & Carroll, LLP - both located in the greater Boston area. Jim started his career as a medicinal chemist the in the biotechnology hub of San Diego, California before attending law school. His graduate work in nanotechnology resulted in several scholarly publications. Jim is a member of the California and Texas State Bar Associations. Jim's hometown is Racine, Wisconsin. Fun Facts Finish the sentence: When I need to recharge, I ___. play golf. What do you like most about working with inventors and other tech transfer professionals? The excitement when a technology is licensed. What career advice would you give your younger self? Take risks and the road less traveled by. You can find me on . Close
Jen is a Financial Analyst and a member of the office's financial team that is responsible for overseeing financials related to revenue and legal expenses. She takes the lead in the processing of all legal invoices, deposits, licensee invoicing, and aged receivables. Jen joined the office in 2023.
Job Titles:
- Director, License and Patent Strategy & Chief Intellectual Property Officer
- Member of the Leadership Team
Jill is a member of the leadership team and manages Emory's in-house patent group (the Emory Patent Group), assists the licensing team with license negotiation, monitors licensees' performance post-license, and ensures the university's compliance with all government reporting obligations under the Bayh-Dole Act. Jill joined the office in 2023.
Kaitlyn is a Licensing Associate and is responsible for case management for Emory intellectual property. Case management involves evaluating and licensing inventions made by faculty. Specific activities include identifying technologies with commercial applications; evaluating the commercial potential of inventions; identifying potential licensees; and drafting and negotiating license agreements and other types of agreements such as interinstitutional and nondisclosure agreements. Kaitlyn joined the office in 2023.
Job Titles:
- Certified Paralegal
- Compliance Associate
- the Compliance Associate
Kim is the Compliance Associate and responsible for matters associated with compliance of university-developed IP resulting from Federal sponsorship as well as IP supported by Foundation grants. She is also part of the team responsible for post-license compliance. Specific activities include reviewing active licenses to assess technology development and milestone achievements via progress and royalty reports, timely receipt of reports, and assurance financial obligations are being met. Kim joined the office in 2017.
Kim is a certified paralegal in the State of Georgia. Prior to joining the office, Kim worked as a foreign prosecution paralegal for a boutique intellectual property firm in Atlanta. Before that, she was the Patents Administrator at Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) for over 17 years. Kim has spent more than two decades working in technology transfer. She has been an active participant in AUTM by volunteering on the operations and compliance course committee, the distance learning committee, and previously as chair of the Intellectual Property committee. Kim's hometown is Madison, Georgia.
Kristi is the Patent Manager and supports the Emory Patent Group. She prepares all formalities including documents for submission related to patent filings, creates and files documents related to prosecution, provides instruction on maintenance fees, obtains estimates for legal expenses, manages documents, and oversees the docket. Kristi joined the office in 2015. Kristi comes to Emory with more than a decade of intellectual property experience. Prior to joining Emory's Patent Group, she was the Paralegal/Office Administrator at Knowles Intellectual Property Strategies, LLC. At Knowles IP Strategies, she was the sole paralegal and was responsible for all non-substantive aspects of prosecution and all docketing for the firm. Before Knowles IP Strategies, Kristi worked at King and Spalding LLP's Atlanta office for over seven years as part of the intellectual property team. Fun Facts If you could only have three apps on your smartphone, what would they be? Photos, Contacts, and Waze. Finish the sentence: When I need to recharge, I ___. Sleep. My favorite movie is: None. I don't have one, as there are too many to choose from. The answer varies depending on my mood. You can find me on . Close
LaShonda is the Senior Financial Analyst and a member of the office's financial team that is responsible for overseeing financials related to revenue and legal expenses. She takes the lead in revenue distributions as well as preparing revenue estimates, managing POP funding accounts, and reconciling various internal accounts. LaShonda joined the office in 2018.
Job Titles:
- Operations Director
- First Operations Director
Linda is the first Operations Director for the office and a member of the leadership team. She is responsible for assisting the Executive Director and team leaders in all operational activities and manages the finance and marketing teams. Key activities include business process, data analysis and reporting, finances, marketing and social media, and information technology. She also oversees the marketing track for students and interns. Linda joined the office in 2006.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Director, Licensing
Mark is the Director, Licensing and a member of the leadership team. He manages and mentors licensing team in matters of intellectual property evaluation, protection, and licensing. He is also responsible for case management for Emory intellectual property. Case management involves evaluating and licensing inventions made by faculty. Mark joined the office in 2022.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Faculty
- Assistant Director, Faculty and Start - Up Services
Michael is the Assistant Director of Faculty and Start-up Services. He works closely with faculty to discuss their research and intellectual property, to foster innovation, and identify their intellectual property. He also supports faculty in their translational research initiatives and in start-up development. Michael joined the office in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Director of Faculty
- Director, Faculty and Start - Up Services
Patrick is the Director of Faculty and Start-up Services and a member of the leadership team. He works with faculty and entrepreneurs to help them navigate the waters of starting a company to commercialize their technologies and obtain early-stage funding. He also assists start-ups by helping to identify experts and management for Emory start-ups. Patrick works closely with the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), Biolocity, angel investors, and venture capital firms in his work supporting Emory start-ups. Patrick returned to the office in 2022 after previously having been the Assistant Director, Faculty and Start-Up Services as well as an intern in the office.
Patrick was previously the University Program Director for the National Security Innovation Network (a Department of Defense program office), where his role focused on finding the best technologies, talent, and startups across the state of Georgia to solve national security problems for the DoD. He also worked as a licensing associate for the University of Tennessee Research Foundation. Patrick's doctoral research focused on defects in ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. He is an active member in AUTM serving on the Public Policy committee, and previously served as the Chair of the Better World Project Committee. Patrick's hometown is San Diego, California.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Licensing
Randi is currently Patent Counsel with Emory Patent Group, focusing on patent preparation and prosecution for medical device and software technologies for the office. She also provides intellectual property counseling to OTT staff and faculty. She instructs overseas counsel on patent preparation and prosecution matters. Randi joined the office in 2010. Randi also participates as a supervisor in the Emory Law School extern program. Before coming to Emory, she spent six years working for intellectual property boutiques in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Randi also worked at the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, where she focused on post-market compliance and regulation, while attending law school. Before attending law school, Randi worked as a Research Assistant for a prestigious New York City orthopedic hospital and worked as a Research Analyst for a Boston healthcare consulting firm servicing pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech companies. Randi is member of the Virginia and Georgia State Bar Associations. Randi's hometown is Ocean, New Jersey. Fun Facts If you could only have three apps on your smartphone, what would they be? Calm, Google Maps, Music In my free time, I ___. I love traveling, checking out new restaurants in Atlanta, and baking. What do you like most about working with inventors and other tech transfer professionals? I enjoy learning about new technologies and their development, and then working with the inventors and tech transfer professionals to craft an appropriate intellectual property strategy that aligns with their progress and goals. You can find me on . Close
Sat is a Licensing Associate and is responsible for case management for Emory intellectual property. Case management involves evaluating and licensing inventions made by faculty. Specific activities include identifying technologies with commercial applications; evaluating the commercial potential of inventions; identifying potential licensees; and drafting and negotiating license agreements and other types of agreements such as interinstitutional and nondisclosure agreements. Sat joined the office in 2021.
Shweta is a Licensing Associate and is responsible for case management for Emory intellectual property. Case management involves evaluating and licensing inventions made by faculty. Specific activities include identifying technologies with commercial applications; evaluating the commercial potential of inventions; identifying potential licensees; and drafting and negotiating license agreements and other types of agreements such as interinstitutional and nondisclosure agreements. Shweta was an OTT Licensing Intern in 2018, and then joined full-time as a Licensing Associate in 2022.
Job Titles:
- Assoc. VP for Research, Executive Director
- Associate Vice President of Research and Executive Director
Todd is the Associate Vice President of Research and Executive Director for the office. He leads the team who focus on creating value from intellectual property developed by Emory researchers. Todd has worked extensively with researchers to translate their promising scientific and medical discoveries into new products that benefit society. This crucial activity helps assure that research is translated into practical applications, including new life-saving medical products that benefit the public who helped to fund it. He has helped pioneer new funding models to support the translation of research and worked globally to identify, test, and implement best practices to increase the impact of academic technology commercialization. Todd has also worked with colleagues to affect federal policy and guidelines that address new intellectual property flowing from federally funded research. Todd joined Emory OTT in 2003.