About Us
Robert S. MacWright, Ph.D., Esq.
Bob MacWright is Executive Director of the Salk Institute Office of Technology Development. Prior to joining Salk, Bob was a partner in the D.C. office of the New York intellectual property law firm Frommer Lawrence & Haug. From 1997 to 2009, he was Executive Director and CEO of the University of Virginia Patent Foundation, where he led a major expansion of patenting and licensing activities, created and led a Patent and Licensing Law Clinic at the UVA School of Law, founded subsidiary company Spinner Technologies, Inc. to support faculty entrepreneurs, and led creation of the Jefferson Corner Group, an angel investment fund focused on UVA start-ups. From 1988 to 1992, he initiated and led the technology transfer program at Rutgers University. Bob has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and also has a law degree from Rutgers Law – Newark. He is a Registered Patent Attorney, and previously practiced law with the IP firm Kenyon & Kenyon, the general practice firm Skadden. Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom. In his legal practice he has represented university and company clients in licensing, patent prosecution and litigation, and also represented investment firms in the financing of biotechnology companies. Bob is a well-known and popular speaker at meetings of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and the Licensing Executives Society (LES).
Paul is Director of Business Development for the Salk Institute's Office of Technology Development, and is responsible for developing research collaborations and sponsorships with industry. Paul is a member of Ireland's Innovation Taskforce, and was co-author of Ireland's Economic Development Plan. He previously served as Director of Biotechnology for Enterprise Ireland in Dublin, where he led a team of professionals in commercializing technologies from throughout the Irish university system. Paul also has considerable technology company experience. He founded Target Protein Technologies, Inc. in San Diego in 1999, and served as its Chief Scientific Officer. He also served in research positions at Corvas International, Inc., NovaDx, Inc., Mitsubishi Petrochemical Co., Ltd., and Flemming GmbH. Paul has a Ph.D. in molecular immunology from Dublin City University, Ireland, and holds certificates in Strategic Roadmapping from University of Cambridge, UK, and in Competitive Intelligence from Fuld Gilad Herring Academy in Amsterdam.
Ha is Senior Licensing Associate at the Salk Institute's Office of Technology Development. She is also a Registered U.S. Patent Agent. Ha was previously Senior Licensing Officer at the UCSF Office of Technology Management, where she gained over six years of experience in the evaluation, protection, marketing and licensing of inventions in a wide variety of life science-related fields, including radiology, cancer and stem cell biology, immunology and urology. She also assisted in the creation of UCSF faculty start-up companies, and was responsible for training and supervising licensing staff members. Ha has been involved in academic tech transfer since becoming a graduate student tech transfer intern at UCSF in 2003. She has a Ph.D. in chemistry and chemical biology from UCSF, where she designed, synthesized and characterized novel thyroid hormone antagonist ligands for use in treating hyperthyroidism and other metabolic disorders.
Lina is a Licensing Associate at the Salk Institute's Office of Technology Development. Prior to joining Salk, she was Licensing Associate in the Tufts University Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaborations in Boston. In that role, Lina was responsible for evaluating, protecting, marketing and licensing inventions in a variety of fields, as well as for negotiating sponsored research agreements, material transfer agreements and other related transactions. She also previously served as a technology transfer intern in the Wake Forest Office of Technology Asset Management. Lina has a Ph.D. in cancer biology from Wake Forest University, and an M.S. in foods and nutrition from Purdue. In 2010, Lina won first prize in a literature review competition held by the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), for her article, "Technology Transfer Models: Traditional, Experimental and Hypothetical." She was also recently awarded AUTM's 2012 Howard Bremer Scholarship, which recognizes leadership potential.
Rachel is a Licensing Associate at the Salk Institute's Office of Technology Development. Rachel previously served as Marketing Associate, in which role she carried out detailed market analysis and actively encouraged targeted companies to license Salk inventions. Rachel has a Master of Bioscience (MBS) degree from the Keck Graduate Institute, an interdisciplinary degree spanning advanced biosciences, clinical pharmacology, drug development and regulation, business strategy and corporate finance. She completed two business focus tracks, one on the business of bioscience, and one on clinical and regulatory affairs. Rachel previously served as Regulatory Affairs Assistant at Kalypsys Inc., where she assisted in preparing clinical study reports for the FDA. She also assisted Kinetic Concepts, Inc. develop its business case for peripheral nerve regeneration products, and assisted Nanex, LLC in developing markets for point-of-care genetic testing products.
Kiren is a Licensing Associate at the Salk Institute's Office of Technology Development, and is also a Registered U.S. Patent Agent. Prior to joining Salk she was a project scientist in the UCSD Department of Neuroscience, and carried out research focused on the biochemical mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and on discovering potential biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases. Kiren also served as patent advisor to San Diego start-up companies, and provided assistance in drafting patent applications and developing intellectual property strategies. Kiren has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Institute of Psychiatry, London, and a M.Sc. in Neuroscience from the University of Manchester. She has also carried out post-doctoral research in Neuroscience at the University of Southampton and the Burnham Institute.
Pam is the MTA associate at the OTD and handles the incoming and outgoing MTA requests for biological materials.
Carol is the License Administrator at the OTD and handles all matters related to the management and maintenance of existing licenses at the office. Carol also handles accounts payable/receivable and licensee invoicing.
Constance is the Business Manager at the OTD and she handles research disclosures, existing agreements, revenue distributions and matters relating to patents such as filing and processing.
Art Root is the Patent Coordinator and Assistant to Bob MacWright. Art provides administrative support to the OTD team, and assists with the processing of material transfer agreements, research disclosures, and patent-related correspondence. He also serves as OTD's event coordinator. Art has a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from UCSD, and joined OTD in March 2009.
