Office of Technology Development

Ha brings extensive experience in technology transfer, licensing and business development, having worked in academia and industry to manage intellectual property portfolios and commercialize life science technologies.

Ha returns to the Salk Institute following 6 years at Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (formerly Life Technologies Corp.), most recently as an Associate Director in licensing and business development. During her first tenure at the Salk Institute, Ha was a Senior Licensing Associate at the Office of Technology Development from 2011-2012 after moving from San Francisco where she was a licensing professional for many years at the UC San Francisco Office of Technology Management.

Ha received her Ph.D. in Chemistry and Chemical Biology from UC San Francisco; her B.S. in Chemistry from UC Irvine; and is a Registered Patent Agent with the USPTO.

Jon joined Salk in October, 2017 as the Director of Licensing. He has over 11 years of experience in technology partnerships, business development and in/out licensing with research institutions across a variety of market sectors.

Prior to joining Salk, Jon was a part of the Business Development team at Indigo Agriculture where he identified and licensed plant microbial technology to help farmers more sustainably feed the planet. Prior to Indigo, Jon was a Senior Licensing Manager in the Partners HealthCare Innovation office where he commercialized innovations from the departments of Anesthesia and Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital. Jon spent the preceding eight years of his career at Boston University. As Director of Business Development, he was part of the core team that developed the most successful licensing program in Boston University’s history.

Jon grew up in Hampstead, NH. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University and his MBA from Boston University. Jon is a registered patent agent and a certified licensing professional.

Richard joins Salk as Director, Innovation Partnerships and brings strong scientific and business experience in early-stage biotech startups and new venture creation. Rich has helped mentor and launch several startup companies including Locanabio, a UCSD gene therapy spinout company. Rich is focused on helping Salk scientists foster research collaborations with academic and industry partners and as well as implementing the Salk Translation Fund to help accelerate the development of breakthrough therapies, diagnostics, medical devices and other innovations. Rich earned his Ph.D. in Biology from Case Western Reserve University followed by a NIH postdoctoral fellowship at University of California Berkeley and later obtained an MBA at the Rady School of Management, UCSD.

Andrew joins Salk as a Senior Licensing Associate in the Office of Technology Development. Andrew has most recently been a freelance biotechnology consultant. Previously, Andrew had Director roles at Illumina and 10x Genomics in Business & Corporate Development. He has also held roles in the local ChromaCode startup as Head of Licensing as well as Senior Director Alliance Management at Active Motif. He has also held roles at Johnson & Johnson, as Genomic Operations Manager and Associate Director Contracts & Agreements.

Andrew received his B.S. in Biochemistry from Cornell University, Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of California Davis, followed by postdoctoral and Assistant Research Biological Chemist roles with Professor Michael Grunstein at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, there Andrew did foundational work in epigenetics. In addition, Andrew received an MBA at the Rady School of Management, UCSD.

Taneashia Morrell is an Attorney, currently working as a Senior Contracts and Licensing Associate in the Office of Technology Development. Her job comprises of contract drafting, licensing negotiation, patent protection, and other intellectual property matters, such as managing Salk’s trademarks. She establishes and maintains relationships with Salk’s faculty and builds industry relations with companies, universities, foundations, and other similar external entities. She also determines various Salk inventions’ current stages of development, determines an invention’s future development path, and identifies any patenting benefits as well as commercial product scenarios.

Previously, Taneashia was a Staff Attorney at the Legal Services of South Central Michigan, where her primary focuses were Family Law and Civil Litigation. Prior to becoming a Staff Attorney, she was a Judicial Law Clerk to the Hons. Rosemarie Aquilina and Hugh B. Clarke Jr. at the 30th Circuit Court and the 54-A District Court, respectively.

Taneashia earned her LLM in Intellectual Property from Michigan State University College of Law, and her JD (cum laude) in Litigation from Western Michigan University Cooley Law. She is admitted to practice in the State Bar of Michigan, the District of Columbia Bar, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., American Inns of Court, Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association, and the San Diego County Bar Association. Taneashia is appointed to serve on several professional legal committees in California, District of Columbia, and Michigan.

Anna Gandolfi is the Business Operations Manager in the Office of Technology Development. She is responsible for all operations, financial and administrative functions to ensure efficient and consistent operations. Prior to joining the Salk Institute, Anna had a 27-year career in business management at UC San Diego, working with students, faculty and staff on events and activities ranging from Orientation to Commencement. Anna received her MBA from University of Phoenix.

Jenifer Jacobsen is the Material Transfer Agreement Coordinator in the Office of Technology Development. She is responsible for drafting and negotiating Material Transfer Agreements in support of the research efforts of Salk’s scientists. Prior to joining Salk, Jenifer gained a decade of experience in similar roles at La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology, UC San Diego, Thermo Fisher Scientific and The Scripps Research Institute. She serves as a California Notary Public and is a member of the National Notary Association (NNA) and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM).

Greg Ryn is an Intellectual Property paralegal in the Office of Technology Development with over two decades of experience working at top rated international law firms located in San Francisco and San Diego, California. Greg is well versed in various IP practice areas including intellectual property litigation, domestic and foreign patent and trademark prosecution, and copyrights.

At Salk, Greg is actively involved in many aspects of IP support, maintenance, and compliance. He acts as a liaison with various outside IP counsels regarding prosecution and administrative matters. Greg tracks deadlines with respect to the patenting process and coordinates decisions on payment of patent annuity or maintenance fees. He also updates and maintains Salk’s IP portfolio database.

Emily Le Gare is the Administrative Coordinator in the Office of Technology Development, assisting the Business Operations Manager and Material Transfer Agreement Coordinator. She provides support to the OTD team through her experience with accounts receivable, data entry, and office administration.