INVO - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of New Ventures at the Innovation and New Ventures Office
Alexandra is the Associate Director of New Ventures at the Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) and the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS). Alexandra broadly supports faculty-led startups and commercialization of university research. She leads various commercialization education and entrepreneurial training programs and also manages a $10M university gap fund called the N.XT fund, which provides pre-seed and seed funding to promising early-stage faculty-based startups at Northwestern. Prior to joining INVO, she interned as a N.XT fund venture associate where she performed due diligence on Northwestern startup companies for N.XT investment. Prior to N.XT, she completed the INVO Practicum where she evaluated patentability, marketability, and commercialization potential for new Northwestern technologies.
Alexandra also received a certificate from Kellogg's Management for Scientists and Engineers program. She completed her synthetic biology-focused Ph.D. in Keith Tyo's lab at Northwestern as part of the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences (IBiS) graduate program. Prior to joining Northwestern, Alexandra obtained a B.S. in Interdisciplinary Biomolecular Engineering from the University of Florida.
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Specialist
Amanda joined the INVO team in February 2023 as the Senior Administrative Specialist. She has a BA in Sociology/Anthropology and Spanish from Lake Forest College and an MS in Higher Education Administration and Policy from Northwestern University. Prior to INVO, Amanda worked as a Program Assistant in Northwestern's Biomedical Engineering department. Outside of work, she enjoys hanging out with dogs, watching the Washington Capitals, and sleeping in.Back to Top
Job Titles:
- Financial Administrator
- New Financial Admin
Amber is a new Financial Admin of the INVO team. She has a BA in History/Sociology from Alverno College and an MA in Early Modern History from Bangor University in Wales. Prior to INVO, Amber worked as an AR and Deduction Analyst with Reyes Coca -Cola, JBS Foods, and Baxter Healthcare. She has over 7 years in the corporate financial sector. Amber is also an actor with a passion for Shakespeare and has been in seventeen theatre productions.Back to Top
Job Titles:
- Executive Director of Finance and Operations
- in 2018 As Senior Director of Finance and Administration
- Operations / Finance / IT
Andrea joined INVO in 2018 as Senior Director of Finance and Administration. She serves as a member of INVO's senior management team and is responsible for the financial management strategy for INVO as well as contributing to the development and implementation of the organization's strategic goals throughout the university. She became Executive Director of Finance and Operations in 2023.
She comes with over 18 years' experience in finance and operations within higher education, academic medical centers, research universities, and health care. Andrea has a BS in Organizational Psychology from Loyola University and an MA in Public Administration from Northwestern University.
Anne-Isabelle joined the INVO team in March 2018. She primarily manages technology portfolios in chemistry, materials science, and engineering.
Prior to INVO, Anne-Isabelle was a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Northwestern University. In this role, she managed and supported several multi-institutional research programs (MURI, Congressionally Directed Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program, Air Force Center of Excellence for Advanced Bioprogrammable Nanomaterials) in the Van Duyne lab. She also lead the development of grant proposals, capitalizing on her extensive research experience in plasmonics nanomaterials and related sensors for chemical and biological agents.
Anne-Isabelle completed her PhD in Physical Chemistry from University Pierre & Marie Curie (Paris, France), her MS in Condensed Matter from University Paris Sud, from where she also earned her BS in Physical Chemistry. Additionally, she completed the Business for Scientists and Engineers Executive Education program from the Kellogg School of Management.
Job Titles:
- Engineering & Physical Sciences
- Executive Director of Innovation Management
Arjan oversees the Invention Management team and advises on technology assessment, innovation identification, intellectual property protection and translational activities, in support of our mission to bring Northwestern University research to the marketplace. These technology translation efforts involve licensing negotiations with a variety of small to large strategic partners as well as supporting startup company formation. Arjan is a regular lecturer at Northwestern's Responsible Conduct in Research classes on IP, and a mentor in the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps program.
Prior to joining Northwestern, Arjan was the Director of Nanotechnology at Richmond Chemical, a chemical and biosciences company, where he managed the formation of a nanoscale probe/imaging branch from concept to first revenue generating contract in the pharma space. Previously, Arjan was a Research Scientist in Biophysics at the Neuroscience Research Institute at UC Santa Barbara, and in Materials and Surface Science at the Materials Science Department and Center for Surface Biotechnology at Uppsala University (Sweden).
Arjan earned his PhD in Materials Science and Ion Physics from Uppsala University in Sweden, and a MSc in Experimental Physics from the ‘Vrije' University in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Ashley is the Post Licensing Manager. In this role, she manages the financial and non-financial license compliance duties including invoicing, managing aging, following up on annual reporting, and milestone update for all current and future INVO portfolios. She provides license term processing guidance as needed by the processing team and engagement with licensees in support of collections of legal expense reimbursements and other accounts receivable from licensees. She also maintains regular tracking and review of aging receivables reports for licensees of university intellectual property.
Ashley joins INVO with over fifteen years of business experience and 5 years of accounting experience in multiple industries and markets. She has over 5 years of Licensing and Compliance experience across various regions within the nation, and proven operations and implementation experience. She is skilled in remote team management, negotiation, budgeting, off-shore team management, project management, regulatory compliance and has also been a grant research and application specialist.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director / Senior Invention Manager
Bhaskar joined the INVO team in March 2023. In his role, he will collaborate with Northwestern University researchers in developing intellectual property protection strategies for emerging life science technologies. He will also facilitate the translation of these technologies by licensing them to suitable commercial partners and by assisting in new venture creation.
Prior to joining INVO, Bhaskar was a Sr. IP Specialist and Licensing Manager in the Innovation and Technology Transfer Division at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. There, he managed the IP and technology portfolio of over 100 research faculty and clinical physicians and led IP licensing and commercialization efforts. During this time, he also managed the business and operation needs of the division.
Bhaskar is former INVO Practicum intern and a trained structural biologist with over 12 years of research experience. He did his postdoctoral research in the department of molecular biosciences at Northwestern University where here deciphered the molecular basis of function for larger non-coding RNAs. He completed his PhD in Molecular Biophysics from the Indian Institute of Science and earned his Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Sciences from Delhi University and a Master's degree in Biotechnology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay.
Carla Bradshaw-Murry joins the INVO team as the Manger of Docketing after 16 years of working in academic tech transfer offices. She will manage the patent docket, oversee receipt of disclosures; and provide support to the University's inventors, invention managers/associates, and law firms. Carla will also work with government and non-governmental compliance/funding matters. Carla has had exposure to patent portfolios from "cradle to grave" and brings a large variety of skills sets to this role including licensing support, compliance, portfolio management all within large research universities. Carla holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of Phoenix. She is Chicago born and raised and resides on the south side.
Job Titles:
- Marketing & Community Manager
Carly oversees the daily execution of The Garage's Integrated Marketing & Communications strategy across digital and owned channels. Realizing her passion for creative communication, she attended Arizona State University where she graduated with a BS in Marketing and a BA in Business Law. During that time, Carly gained vast experience at the Interplanetary Initiative - where she aimed to drive student, faculty, and corporate awareness of the university's advancement into the realm of space exploration. She subsequently excelled in Social Media Management, Public Relations and Community Management roles. She is delighted to join the team at The Garage in reaching aspiring entrepreneurs at Northwestern!Back to Top
Job Titles:
- Associate General Counsel
- General Counsel
- in 2024 As Associate General Counsel
Christine joined Northwestern University in 2024 as Associate General Counsel. She is an embedded attorney with Northwestern's Innovation and New Ventures Office where she advises primarily on Intellectual Property and licensing matters.
Prior to joining Northwestern, Christine was Senior Director, IP Counsel at Invivyd, Inc., where she led all aspects of IP strategy including portfolio management, IP transactional work and alliance management, pipeline development analysis, publication IP strategy, and trademark support for branding. Before Invivyd, Christine was Assistant General Counsel, IP Legal at Astellas US, LLC, most recently in the role of IP lead for international commercial markets, and also leading IP support for public policy and government affairs. Prior to Astellas, Christine was an attorney in private practice for fifteen years in several law firms in Chicago, representing primarily pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in patent practice and adversarial proceedings covering the full product lifecycle from discovery through patent litigation, including Hatch-Waxman litigation.
Christine received an A.B. in Biology from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. She is licensed to practice law in Illinois and is a registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Colleen joined the Invention Management team as a postdoctoral associate in March 2024. She works with Northwestern researchers to implement intellectual property protection and commercialization strategies for new technologies in life science fields.
Colleen received her BS in Biological Sciences from the University of Notre Dame and her PhD in Life Sciences from Northwestern University. Most recently, Colleen worked as a postdoctoral researcher in a viral immunology lab at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research background is in microbiology, immunology, and cellular biology.
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Intelligence
- Finance and Technology
As the Director of Business Intelligence, Dragos leads a high performance team managing INVO's data governance and analysis, finance and technology operations. The data-driven operations at INVO support day-to-day operations and decision making across invention disclosure, intellectual property, and licensing areas. Coupled with information systems integration and strategic collaborations across campus, the business intelligence team has the goal of delivering the highest quality of service to INVO's customers (faculty, inventors, licensees, and university startups).
Prior to joining Northwestern, he managed data governance, web services and consulted on interactive media for the University of Denver and several other non-profit organizations in the Denver and Chicagoland areas. Dragos taught a course on Database Design and Large Scale Analytics in the Masters Program for Data Science at DePaul University and designed, developed and managed web applications including CRMs, CMSs and facility scheduling systems as well as social media strategic plans.
Dragos earned his MBA in Business IT from the University of Denver Daniels College of Business and a BS in Human-Computer Interaction from DePaul University.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Operations & Finance
Elisa Mitchell is an accomplished attorney and CPA with 18 years of experience in the financial securities industry, bringing new investment products to market. As a team member at Allstate, Van Kampen, Morgan Stanley and Invesco, Elisa helped business leaders to navigate a complex competitive landscape and a challenging regulatory framework. She brings strong organizational skills, attention to detail, and a can-do attitude to every project. She is thrilled to be the Assistant Director of Operations & Finance at The Garage and enjoys helping each student start a unique entrepreneurial journey.
Feifei Li joined INVO in February 2023. She is responsible for managing a technology portfolio in therapeutics and diagnostics. In her current role, she evaluates patentability and marketability, implements intellectual property strategies, negotiates licensing contracts, supports new venture creation, and promotes lab-to-launch and strategic partnerships.
Prior to joining INVO, she was a bioinorganic chemist, a tenure-track assistant professor at New Mexico State University, and an NIH-funded principal investigator. Feifei received her B.S. in chemistry from Nanjing University and her PhD in chemistry from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, followed by post-doctoral research at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Feifei is a registered patent agent with the USPTO.
Jake is in charge of maintaining all technology within The Garage and The Makerspace. Jake found his passion for 3D Printing and Makerspace operations while working at DePaul University's Idea Realization Lab. After achieving his BS in Video Game Development, Jake put his expertise towards industry, working as Lead Quality Inspector for Fast Radius, a cloud manufacturing company pushing the limits of 3D printing for industrial applications. Excited to be returning to an education role, Jake works to keep all the tools and equipment in The Garage running smoothly, and looks forward to helping students and prospective entrepreneurs realize their creative visions.Back to Top
Job Titles:
- Docketing and Compliance Administrator
Julie joined INVO in November 2022 as the new Docket and Compliance Administrator. She has worked in the legal field for over 20 years and brings a wealth of experience from a corporate setting with an emphasis on Intellectual Property Law. She has extensive knowledge in prosecuting patents and trademarks in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In her last role, she was part of the IP Litigation Practice Group. Julie holds an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Paralegal Studies from South Suburban College. She is a member of the Illinois Paralegal Association and completed an internship with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office in the Felony Review Unit. Born and raised in Chicago, Julie enjoys traveling and spending time with her family.
Juliette provides a variety of clerical & administrative support for The Garage. She graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey with a BA in Music with a concentration in music production and audio engineering. She is looking forward to being able to support The Garage and its Northwestern community.Back to Top
Job Titles:
- Director License Strategy & Business Development
Katie serves as the Director License Strategy & Business Development. In this role she is a strategic partner to INVO's Executive Director providing analysis of business impacts and risk-management for both current and in-negotiations license agreements, crafts agreement terms and negotiates license language that supports INVO's central mission, and works with the Executive Director of the newly created InQbation Lab to develop and launch outreach programs that will provide support and education to Northwestern faculty, students, start-ups, and community members with respect to development of license agreements, compliance, and financial metrics.
Katie joined INVO in October 2018. She oversees IIA negotiations, license template content and structure, agreement compliance issues, patent expense reimbursement management and license amendment strategy. She also works closely with the Invention Management team to implement and manage materials licenses.
Katie spent over a decade at Viacom Media Networks working in contract management, post-contract rights analysis and licensing. She has also managed licensed accounts, account research and accounts receivable collection for Broadcast Music, Inc. Katie holds a BBA from Belmont University, an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Law degree from Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law.
As the Accounting Manager, Kevin assists with managing all of the financial aspects for the department.
Prior to joining NU, Kevin worked as a Business Process Coordinator for The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International from 2001 to 2011.
Kevin received his BA from Columbia College majoring in Acoustical Engineering and Business Management.
Job Titles:
- Prosecution and Data Support Specialist
Lillian Ruiz-Orellana joined INVO in September 2023 as a prosecution and data support specialist. She has 20+ years of intellectual property background along with professional proofreading and medical and legal terminology. She specialized in patent prosecution for biotech, biochem, mechanical and electrical engineering and has extensive knowledge in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office prosecution procedures as well as international protocols. Lillian is currently pursuing her BA in Paralegal Studies (as a lifelong learner). She is a member of the IPLA, NALS and a Notary Public (State of Illinois). Lillian is a native Wisconsinite and is a former stage manager for Next Generation Theater Company, entertainment manager, hostler, and enjoys all kinds of music, soccer, and hockey.
Lindsay joined the Invention Management team in 2024 as an Invention Associate after working as a Research Associate at INVO's Lakeside Discovery throughout 2023.
Lindsay completed her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics at Northwestern as part of the Driskill Graduate Program and earned a B.S. in Biology from the University of Rochester. She performed postdoctoral fellowships at AbbVie and the University of Chicago. Prior to joining INVO, Lindsay worked as a Research Scientist at a Chicago-based biotechnology startup.
Job Titles:
- Associate Vice President
- Associate Vice President for Innovation and New Ventures
Lisa Dhar is the Associate Vice President for Innovation and New Ventures and oversees Northwestern's Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) which includes The Garage and The Querrey InQbation Lab. Previously at INVO she was the Director of New Business Ventures and the Interim Executive Director of the Querrey InQbation Lab. INVO supports the translation of Northwestern innovations to the public and the development of the next generation of entrepreneurs. In addition to her work at INVO, she has taught in the McCormick School of Engineering and Kellogg School of Management.
Prior to joining Northwestern in 2016, Dhar held various leadership roles in the Office of Technology Management at the University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign) from 2009. Earlier in her career, she was co-founder and vice president of media development for InPhase Technologies, a Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies startup that raised more than $90 million in total funding. There, she led a team of chemical engineers, chemists and optical engineers to commercialize high-performance recording media for holographic data storage. Dhar has been awarded nearly a dozen patents, has coedited a book on holographic data storage and has authored or coauthored more than 25 journal articles. Dhar earned her bachelor's degree in chemistry from University of Chicago and her doctorate degree in physical chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Michael did his undergrad in chemical engineering at UMass Amherst and received his JD from Suffolk University. He has since then held several positions working as engineer as well as patent attorney on commercialization of sensor technologies, most recently as director of product innovation at Smart Start.Back to Top
Mike is responsible for overseeing key programs and initiatives, developing relationships with the Northwestern and Chicago entrepreneurial communities, and building new communities around the world to support Northwestern student founders. Prior to The Garage, Mike was an investor at a venture capital firm founded by Northwestern alumni, where he provided support and mentorship. He began his career serving in a multitude of strategy-focused roles at one of the largest media companies in Los Angeles. Mike is a proud "double" Northwestern alum, having graduated with a BS in Communication focused on TV & Film and MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
Nnamdi Nelson is joining INVO from UCSF where he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Diabetes Center and a technology analyst intern at UCSF's Innovation Ventures group. He works with researchers at Northwestern to protect their innovative work through the patent and license of new technologies to commercial partners. He manages a portfolio of inventions spanning a wide array of life science fields, including synthetic biology, medical devices, therapeutics, and research tools.
Nnamdi holds a BA in Biology from Wartburg College and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Nnamdi recently served as VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Biotech Connection, a Bay Area nonprofit focused on life science innovation, where he led initiatives to accelerate careers and increase innovation opportunities for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director, Strategic Alliances / Invention Manager
Phil joined INVO in June 2022 and works directly with Northwestern researchers to evaluate, protect and license technologies in material sciences, chemistry, and medical devices. Phil brings over 25 years of diversified industrial R&D experience across specialty chemical (Nalco & Cabot Microelectronics) and medical devices/pharma (Baxter & Abbvie). He started his career developing water treatment additives for mineral scale control and flocculants for papermaking at Nalco Chemical Co. At Cabot Microelectronics he held Research Fellow and Director roles with responsibilities for innovating nanoparticle polishing slurry formulations in the production of advanced node semiconductors. As R&D Director at Baxter Healthcare, he helped build capabilities in particle analyses, emulsion technology, cross functional discovery teams, and analytical support to manufacturing. Throughout his career, Phil has maintained a focus on discovery and new product development that includes over 40 patents, numerous innovation awards, 35 journal publications, and several commercialized products.
Phil received his B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois-Champaign, his PhD in physical organic chemistry from the University of California-Berkeley and conducted post-doctoral research at the University of Minnesota Chemical Engineering Department focused on crystallization science.
Sarah joined INVO in 2014. She manages intellectual property protection and commercialization for a variety of chemistry and materials science technologies, including areas such as energy and sustainability, supramolecular chemistry, and biomaterials. Towards commercialization, she leads discussions with licensees, potential partners, and other institutions in the US and abroad. Sarah is also the office contact for student inventions and entrepreneurship classes, such as NUvention.
Prior to joining INVO, Sarah was a graduate student in the chemistry department at Northwestern University. Her research focused on the synthesis and biological testing of enzyme-activated MRI contrast agents for visualizing gene expression. She also completed coursework in biophysics as part of Northwestern's Molecular Biophysics Training Program.
Sarah received a BS in Biochemistry from Calvin College and a PhD in Chemistry from Northwestern University, and is a registered patent agent.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Administrator
Sarah is responsible for planning and executing VentureCat, Northwestern's annual student startup competition, which awards more than $300k in non-dilutive capital to student participants. Since joining Northwestern in 2012, Sarah has worked in units across the University and in a variety of areas including faculty research and grant funding, corporate and alumni engagement, and student programming. Prior to joining The Garage, Sarah spent several years as the Manager of the Entrepreneurship Program at the Kellogg School of Management. Sarah is thrilled to have the opportunity to utilize her understanding of the university landscape and entrepreneurial ecosystem to benefit student entrepreneurs and partners across the University.Back to Top
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Querrey InQbation Lab
Sonia focuses on marketing strategies for new innovations and promoting INVO services within the University and its technologies to industry. She organizes INVO seminars and clinics for Northwestern faculty, staff and students on topics ranging from protecting intellectual property to commercializing technologies and exploring entrepreneurship. She works to increase the awareness of university research and technologies through active marketing, newsletters and social media. Sonia also oversees educational programs like the INVO Practicum, an internship open to Northwestern scientists who are interested in developing non-bench skills, like assessing university technologies for patentability and marketability. Prior to joining INVO, Sonia worked for the Office of Technology Licensing at Stanford University for four years as a science writer and marketing consultant.
Sonia has a SB in Biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a MEd from Harvard School of Education, and a PhD in Cell Biology from Harvard University.
Job Titles:
- Prosecution and Data Support Specialist
Szymon joined INVO in November 2021 as a prosecution and data support specialist. His role's primary functions includes the management of administrative and data entry issues as they relate to Invention Managers and Associates, participation in license agreement activity and the patent prosecution process, and reference management for Information Disclosure Statements and work order forms from law firms.
He has previously participated in several academic research collaborations, including a cloud-based computing project sponsored by the University of Chicago for Wisepill, as well as a number of other types of data-related tasks executed for Bowling Green State University's Police Crime Department.
As a Chicago Posse scholar, Szymon studied and received his BA in computer science from Connecticut College. His time there allowed him to complete a four-year-long academic journey of Japanese linguistics that ultimately culminated in a semester-long home-stay with a family in Kyoto, Japan. In his free time, Szymon loves cooking traditional Polish food, playing video games, and practicing classical piano music almost as much as he loves to go on hikes and nature walks.