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.

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.

Adam Kaldor is currently working as a Licensing & Alliance Management Associate in the Office of Technology Development at Salk Institute. He is responsible for contract drafting and negotiation, commercialization strategies, as well as patent protection and other intellectual property matters.

Previously, Adam was an Associate in the Technology Transactions Group at the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, primarily focused on providing legal advice to start-ups and other early-stage biotechnology companies. Prior to his time at Wilson Sonsini, Adam was a Commercial Counsel at Google and Rivian, where he provided legal counsel to various cross-functional business and legal teams.

Adam received his J.D. from Duke University School of Law; his M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Duke University; and his B.S. in Environmental Biology and Economics from Georgetown University.

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.

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.

Sharon joins Salk as a Director of Licensing after having worked at WuXi Biologics, Novartis Biomedical Research, and Thermo Fisher Scientific in licensing, collaborative partnerships, corporate development, and compliance. Prior to working at corporations, she had experience in technology transfer working at the City of Hope and Scripps Research. Sharon is focused on helping Salk scientsits commercialize their technologies through licensing intellectual property. Sharon obtained a Ph.D. in Biomolecular Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison followed by postdoctoral studies at Scripps Research involving RNA-protein interactions.

Lia is currently working as an Administrator serving both The Office of Technology Development as well as the Office of Advancement at the Salk Institute. She is responsible for complex coordination of calendars and scheduling, as well data entry for Salk scientist’s technology licenses, among other responsibilities.

Previously, Lia worked as an administrator for the UCSD Shiley Eye Institute where she handled all incoming patient requests for the Optometry department and managed the clinic schedules for 13 Optometrists. She was also employed as lead technician and clinic supervisor at Retina Consultants San Diego during a time of massive growth from 2 to 5 offices, providing support to the retina specialists and all staff members.

Lia earned a B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology in Biomedical Photographic Communications where she was able to blend her photographic creativity with scientific subjects.