Description
Institutions like UAB have been hubs for world class scientific research in Birmingham. There is tremendous economic opportunity in multiplying the value of this work through licensing and the creation of start-ups. Karthik Gopalakrishnan, Director of Licensing and New Ventures for the Harbert Institute, came to Birmingham from Duke University in 2019 to help with this. He will discuss why University tech transfer offices are critical, how organizations like UAB are doing this, and why this matters for our economic well-being as a city, region, and state.
About the Speaker
Karthik Gopalakrishnan, Ph.D., joined the Harbert Institute in 2019 and leads all UAB Licensing and Intellectual Property management efforts as Director of Licensing and New Ventures. Karthik holds almost three decades of broad experience in science and business development, marketing and negotiating agreements in university technology transfer. Under his direction, the Harbert Institute started the successful Innovate Fellows program, which offers graduate students and postdoctoral fellows the opportunity to learn about technology transfer and commercialization. The institute has also seen increased numbers of intellectual property disclosures under his leadership. Before coming to UAB, Karthik was an Associate Director at the Duke University Office of Licensing and Ventures. He earned a Master of Science in Biotechnology from the MS University of Baroda, and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai. Karthik also completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC.