Karin Immergluck, Ph.D. - Acting Director

Karin rejoined the OTM in June 2004, following 2 ½ years as a Licensing Officer at the Office of Technology Transfer in the UC Office of the President in Oakland, and one year previous to that as a part-time Licensing Intern at the OTM. She is responsible for technology management, licensing and outgoing material transfer agreements. While at the OTT, Karin managed a large life-sciences portfolio consisting of technologies from seven of the UC campuses. Her activities included managing patent interferences, infringement issues and other licensing-related disputes. Karin conducted her doctoral work at UCSF in the laboratory of Dr. J. Michael Bishop, in collaboration with her Swiss mentor, Dr. Ernst Hafen of the University of Zurich. Her research focused on elucidating the developmental roles of a cancer-related tyrosine kinase gene in Drosophila melanogaster. She received a M.S.-equivalent degree in biochemistry from the University of Zurich in Switzerland, where she began her research in Drosophila genetics. Karin’s technical background is strongest in genetics, as well as cell, molecular, and developmental biology.

You can contact Karin at 415-502-1605 or Karin.Immergluck@ucsf.edu

Sunita Rajdev, Ph.D. - Associate Director

Sunita joined OTM as a part-time Intern in September 2000 before joining the office full-time in April 2001. She is responsible for licensing, outgoing material transfer agreements and technology management. Prior to that she held a position of Assistant Research Neuroscientist in the Department of Neurosurgery at UCSF. Sunita did her graduate work at the University of Pittsburgh in Ian Reynold's lab in the field of excitotoxicity. She completed her postdoctoral training at UCSF in Frank Sharp's lab in the Department of Neurology. At UCSF, Sunita's research focused on the molecular mechanisms underlying cellular injury in the brain. She has a strong technical background in neuroscience, pharmacology, molecular and cell biology.

You can contact Sunita at 415-502-1628 or Sunita.Rajdev@ucsf.edu

Gonzalo Barrera-Hernández, Ph.D. – Assistant Director

Gonzalo joined OTM in August 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 in Oakland, where he was responsible for all IP management and licensing matters of a portfolio of life-sciences technologies from several UC campuses. While at IAS, he was also responsible for the first UC System Proof-of-Concept Fund, the UC System-Wide Technology Transfer Forum Program, the Technology Transfer Annual Report for the UC System, and the management of the UC System approval process for acceptance of equity in licensing transactions. Prior to joining UC, Gonzalo worked for 2 years, on detail, in technology transfer at the Office of Technology Development, National Institutes of Health. Gonzalo received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Calgary, Canada, where his research focused on gene regulation in Diabetes mellitus. His postdoctoral research at the National Cancer Institute focused on the role of the thyroid hormone receptor in cell cycle regulation and on the mechanism controlling the switch from cell cycle regulation to differentiation. Gonzalo received his degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

You can contact Gonzalo at 415-502-1637 or Gonzalo.Barrera-Hernandez@ucsf.edu

Todd Pazdera, Ph.D. - Assistant Director

Todd Pazdera joined the OTM in March of 2012. Todd spent 10 years at Mount Sinai’s School of Medicine’s Office of Technology and Business Development, where he worked on IP portfolio management, technology licensing, and industry sponsored research and collaboration agreements. He also initiated and implemented the office’s Technology Development Fund (gap funding) and helped form several new companies based on Mount Sinai technologies. Todd also managed a significant number of active licensing and collaboration relationships to ensure both Mount Sinai and the commercial partner were achieving their goals. Prior to joining Mount Sinai, he worked as a consultant for Accenture in Chicago. Todd did his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University in the lab of Jon Minden, studying the role of programmed cell death in Drosophila embryonic development. He also has a B.S. in Cell and Structural biology (with honors) from the University of Illinois where he did neuroscience research.

You can contact Todd at 415-502-1636 or Todd.Pazdera@ucsf.edu

David Fung, Ph.D. – Senior Licensing Officer

David joined the Office of Innovation, Technology and Alliances in September 2012 with more than eleven years’ experience in academic technology transfer in both the biomedical and physical sciences. Before coming to UCSF, he managed intellectual property at Yale University, where he assisted in the formation of several startup companies and was responsible for IP from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Prior to Yale, David served in a similar capacity at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Before going into technology transfer, David was with the Assurance and Business Advisory Services of PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Jose and New York, working with biotechnology clients. David completed his postdoctoral training in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University. His Ph.D. is in biophysics from Harvard University, and he holds M.S. and B.S. degrees in physics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and Stanford University respectively.

You can contact David at 415-502-1640 or David.Fung@ucsf.edu

Ellen Kats, Ph.D. – Senior Licensing Officer

Ellen joined the OTM as a Licensing Associate in February 2007 having received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from UC San Diego in the laboratory of Richard Kolodner. Her dissertation focused on the role of chromatin assembly factors in genomic stability, DNA repair and cell cycle control. Prior to graduate school, Ellen earned her B.A. in Molecular and Cellular Biology from UC Berkeley, while concurrently conducting research in epithelial morphogenesis at Keith Mostov’s lab at UCSF. Ellen has a strong background in molecular and cellular biology, cancer biology, human and yeast genetics, and, interestingly enough, Opera. In addition to her licensing duties here, Ellen has been a practicing member of the World Shorinji Kempo Organization since 2003.

You can contact Ellen at 415-502-1598 or Ellen.Kats@ucsf.edu

Debbie Alexander, Ph.D. - Licensing Officer

Debbie joined the OTM in June 2009, after a one-year internship. Her responsibilities include technology management, licensing, and outgoing material transfer agreements.  Debbie received her scientific training in Great Britain.  She earned a  BSc in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Durham University and a DPhil in Plant Science from the University of Oxford, where she received a Gatsby Foundation Sainsbury Studentship to support her work in the laboratory of Jane Langdale. Following her graduate work, Debbie moved to Stanford, CA, to pursue postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Kathy Barton at the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Plant Biology, where she studied the interrelationship between stem cells and the establishment of developmental axes during organ formation.  Prior to joining the OTM, she worked as a Scientific Curator at The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR), the international Arabidopsis database, to develop functional and phenotypic annotations for the Arabidopsis genome. Debbie has a strong background in developmental biology, genetics, and molecular biology.

You can contact Debbie at 415-502-1586 or Debbie.Alexander@ucsf.edu

Dior Baumjohann, Ph.D. - Licensing Officer

Dior joined the OTM in July 2011, after an eight-month licensing internship. Her responsibilities include technology management, licensing and outgoing material transfer agreements. Dior began her scientific training at the University of Washington as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Undergraduate Researcher and earned B.S. degrees in both Microbiology and Cellular & Molecular Biology and a Minor in Chemistry. For her graduate studies, she received a Master's degree in Virology from Harvard University and a Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in Cell Biology and Immunology from the University of Bern in Switzerland. She conducted her doctoral work in the laboratory of Markus Manz at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Switzerland, studying the role of cytokines during dendritic cell development. In addition to research, Dior worked as a freelance Scientific Writer/Editor and Graphic Designer.

You can contact Dior at 415-502-1597 or Dior.Baumjohann@ucsf.edu

Kristin Agopian, Ph.D. - Senior Licensing Liaison

Kristin joined the OTM in August, 2008. Her responsibilities include assisting in technology management, drafting outgoing material transfer, nondisclosure, and interinstitutional agreements, and conducting special prior art and competitive market analyses. Prior to joining the OTM she was a Senior Analyst with Health Advances, a consulting firm in the Boston area that provides business strategy solutions for biotech, pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostic companies and non-profits. She has been a Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies, where she worked with the University-Industry Demonstration Partnership (UIDP) - a professional group dedicated to enhancing the technology transfer process. Kristin earned her Ph.D. in Virology from Harvard University in the laboratory of Dana Gabuzda. Her dissertation focused on the Nef protein of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Prior to her graduate studies, Kristin worked as a Research Assistant in the cell biology lab of Bernie Gilula at The Scripps Research Institute. She received her A.B. from Princeton University where she studied Drosophila development and speciation under Hope Hollocher.

You can contact Kristin at 415-502-1607 or Kristin.Agopian@ucsf.edu

Darya Bubman, Ph.D. - Licensing Associate

Darya joined the OTM in November 2011, after a three-month licensing internship. Her responsibilities include technology management, licensing and outgoing material transfer agreements. Darya earned a B.A. degree in Biochemistry from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences in New York City. She conducted her doctoral work in the laboratory of Dr. Ethel Cesarman, studying deregulation of cancer signaling pathways by the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) in primary effusion lymphoma. Following her graduate studies, Darya became an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow and worked at the U.S. State Department in the Intellectual Property Office on international issues related to biomedical IP, innovation, and technology transfer. Prior to joining OTM, she worked as a Technology Partnerships Manager at the NASA Ames Research Center located at Moffett Field, CA. Darya has a strong background in virology, oncology, pharmacology and molecular biology.

You can contact Darya at 415-502-1585 or Darya.Bubman@ucsf.edu

Linda Yu, Ph.D. - Licensing Associate

Linda joined the OTM in July, 2012. Her responsibilities include technology management, licensing and outgoing material transfer agreements. Linda received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Columbia University working in Dr. Liang Tong's laboratory, where she investigated the structural and functional characteristics of metabolic enzymes implicated in obesity and type II diabetes. In addition to her research, Linda was also a Fellow with Columbia Technology Ventures (CTV), Columbia's technology transfer program for two years. Prior to graduate school, Linda earned a B.S. in Biochemistry/Chemistry and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of California, San Diego (cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa).

You can contact Linda at 415-502-1608 or Linda.Yu@ucsf.edu

Shikha Sharma, Ph.D. - Licensing Associate

Shikha joined the OTM as an intern in January 2012 before joining the office full-time in January 2013. Her responsibilities include technology management, licensing and outgoing material transfer agreements. Shikha holds a M.Sc. in Molecular Genetics (with Distinction) and Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Sciences (2011) from University of Leicester, UK. Shikha is the recipient of Overseas Research Student Award Scheme which is funded by Higher Education Funding Council to attract high-quality international students to undertake research in UK. Her doctoral work was on Angiopoietin ligands which play an important role in angiogenesis. She studied the molecular basis of Angiopoietin-Tie binding interaction using a combination of rational design and directed evolution. Shikha likes reading about latest scientific innovations and enjoys the uniqueness and challenges in the field of intellectual property and technology transfer.

You can contact Shikha at 415-502-1613 or Shikha.Sharma@ucsf.edu

Han Li, Ph.D. - Technology Marketing Specialist

Han joined ITA in December 2012. She is responsible for developing, implementing and coordinating technology marketing strategies to facilitate the transfer of UCSF technologies to commercial entities for end-use or commercial development. Han received her Ph.D. in Cell Biology and Biochemistry from UCSF. She did her doctoral work in Dr. Peter Walter’s laboratory, where she investigated and dissected the mechanism of mammalian unfolded protein response. Han was also a consultant for the UCSF QB3 New Ventures Consulting Service during graduate school, where she conducted market opportunity analyses and evaluations for prospective or nascent companies. Following her graduate studies, Han worked as a postdoctoral fellow in the oncology department at Genentech before she joined ITA. Han earned a B.S. in Biochemistry and Biomathematics from the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania.

You can contact Han at 415-514-9672 or Han.Li@ucsf.edu

Dan Abel, J.D. - Patent Prosecution and Business Manager

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. Prior to joining the OTM, he worked in real estate specializing in the rehabilitation of residential and commercial property.

You can contact Dan at 415-502-1644 or Dan.Abel@ucsf.edu

Tanya Feldman - Patent Prosecution Analyst

Tanya joined the OTM in February 2010 as the Patent Prosecution Analyst, assisting on patent prosecution matters, annual government reporting, monitoring annuities, and other special projects. She holds a BA in Broadcast and Electronic Communications from San Francisco State University. Prior to joining the OTM, Tanya spent many years working in administrative capacity with non-profits and small businesses specializing in cultural exchange and education.

You can contact Tanya at 415-502-1630 or Tanya.Feldman@ucsf.edu

Bernadette Emrick - Patent Prosecution Assistant

Bernadette is the OTM Patent Prosecution Assistant, working with Dan Abel on government reporting, administration of human embryonic stem cells, and a variety of patent related issues.  She earned her undergraduate degree at San Francisco State University where she majored in art.  Prior to joining the OTM, Bernadette was the Operations Manager for UC Berkeley’s Office of Technology Licensing. 

You can contact Bernadette at 415-502-1579 or Bernadette.Emrick@ucsf.edu

Janna Huie - Accounting Assistant

Prior to joining the OTM, Janna spent 4 ½ years as an Accounting Assistant in UC’s Office of The President’s Office of Technology Transfer. Previously she spent 13 ½ years as a lead in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s Accounts Payable Department while working toward a degree in accounting.

You can contact Janna at 510-587-6039 or Janna.Huie@ucop.edu.

For Internal Users: Processing Staff Changes