Research NewsletterIssue: ORN-2024-47

Center for Translational Research (CTR) Workshop on

Intellectual Property and Tech Transfer in Translational Research

Sponsored by

NSF ART (Accelerating Research Translation) Program at NJIT

National Academy of Inventor (NAI) – NJIT Chapter

Date and Venue: November 21, 2024, 9.00 AM – 4.00 PM; CKB – Agile Lab

Registration Requested: Please Click Here to Register by November 18, 2024

For Complete Program Information with Speakers’ Bios - Click Here

Brief Description: The Center for Translational Research is committed to promoting excellence in collaborative research, innovation partnerships, entrepreneurial pathways, education, training and infrastructure development to translate technology into applications with a high societal and economic impact. To follow up on the CTR mission to enhance the research, innovation and technology entrepreneurship ecosystem at NJIT, we have initiated a series of workshops on pathways to translational research and innovation partnerships, with panel discussions and breakout sessions giving faculty, postdocs and students an opportunity to interact with experts on early and advanced translational research, tech transfer, licensing and funding strategies for entrepreneurial activities.

Who Should Attend: Faculty, research staff, undergraduate and graduate students and postdocs and external partners who are pursuing or are interested in pathways to translational research and innovation with technology development for use-inspired applications and societal benefit should attend and would be benefited from the workshop. The workshop will focus on the need and processes of acquisition of Intellectual Property (such as patents and trademarks issued by the United States Patents and Trademark Office (USPTO) and technology transfer (such as licensing) activities towards potential commercialization for innovation translation to market for societal use. 

Why You Should Attend: You will have the opportunity to learn about recent developments at the USPTO towards streamlining the IP acquisition processes including application submission, review by patent examiners and office actions by Elizabeth Dougherty, Eastern Regional Outreach Director at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office who will give a Distinguished Keynote talk and also participate in the discussion session with inventors in academia and industry. The USPTO is hiring up to 1600 engineers and scientists to serve as USPTO patent examiners. Dr. Dougherty will host an information and recruitment session for faculty inventors to serve as patent examiners.

You will also have an opportunity to participate in the breakout session to learn about the NJIT’s new Technology Transfer Office with open discussion on licensing and enterprise development processes. IP acquisition and tech transfer processes are critical in the translation research pathways towards future funding, entrepreneurship and potential commercialization.

Registered attendees will be able to submit their questions for the breakout sessions for experts to follow up with open discussion. 

Agenda 

9.00 AM – 9.45 AM:     Registration and Meet & Greet Networking with Breakfast

10.00 AM - 10.15 AM: Welcome Remarks and Program Outline

        Atam Dhawan, Senior Vice Provost and Executive Director – CTR

        Teik Lim, President, New Jersey Institute of Technology

       Michael Johnson, President, New Jersey Innovation Institute

       Hina Mehta , Program Director, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate, U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and Pradeep Fulay, Lead Program Director, NSF Accelerating Research Translation (ART) Program, TIP Directorate

10.15 AM -11.00 AM:   Distinguished Keynote Presentation

             Elizabeth Dougherty, JD, Eastern Regional Outreach Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

11.00 AM - 12.30 PM: Distinguished Panel Session: Translational Research and Tech Transfer Processes     in Academic and Industry                                       

       Govi Rao, Chief Executive Officer at Phase Change Solutions (Moderator)

      John Ritter, Executive Director, Office of Technology Licensing Princeton University

     Deborah Perez Fernandez, Executive Director, Technology Transfer, Rutgers University

     Barry Datlof, Chief, Business Development and Commercialization, Office of Medical Technology Transfer, Defense Health Agency (DHA) Research and Development.

    David Zimmerman, Strategic Partnership Officer, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Princeton University

     Greg Plaskon, Vice President – Intellectual Property, Stryker Orthopaedics, NJ

    Hina Mehta , Program Director, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate, National Science Foundation

    Judith Sheft, Executive Director, New Jersey Commission on Science, Innovation and Technology

 12.30 PM - 1.30 PM:     Lunch with Experts – Roundtable Assigned Seats Networking

 1.30 PM - 2.30 PM:       Breakout Session – Technology Transfer and Licensing in Translation Research -                                            

                                        NJIT IP, Technology Transfer and Licensing

         Shawn Chester, Associate Vice Provost for Research Collaborations

        Viraj Mane, PhD, Director of the NJII Venture Studio 

        Sherie Dodson, Associate Director for Technology Transfer & Intellectual Property

        Sanjiv Chokshi, Esq, Associate General Counsel

 2.30 PM - 3.00 PM:       Closing Remarks

 3.00 PM – 4.00 PM:      USPTO Patent Examiners Information Session

          Recruitment of Faculty Inventors (by registration only)

          Elizabeth Dougherty, JD, Eastern Regional Outreach Director, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

__________________________________________

Agenda: Breakout Session: Technology Transfer and Licensing in Translation Research

NJIT Tech Transfer Office Introductions

Parallel Discussion Groups        

Group 1 – Invention Disclosures & Patenting 

Group 2 – Tech Transfer Support 

Group 3 – Licensing 

Group 4 – Startups

Group Reports & Discussion 

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NSF: Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR); Emerging Mathematics in Biology (eMB); Equitable and Transformative Approaches to Educating the Semiconductor Workforce (ETA-ESW); Growing Research Compliance Support and Service Infrastructure for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity; Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF); Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program (HEGS); Build and Broaden: Enhancing Social, Behavioral and Economic Science Research and Capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions (B2)

NIH: Technology Development Research for Establishing Feasibility and Proof of Concept (R21); Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grant (Parent T32); Digital Health Technology Derived Biomarkers and Outcome Assessments for Remote Monitoring and Endpoint Development (UG3/UH3); BRAIN Initiative: Development and Validation of Novel Tools to Probe Cell-Specific and Circuit-Specific Processes in the Brain (R01); NINDS Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) for Training of Postdoctoral Fellows (F32); Bioengineering Partnerships with Industry (U01); Engineering Next-Generation Human Nervous System Microphysiological Systems (R21); BRAIN Initiative: Next-Generation Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System (UG3/UH3)

Department of Defense/US Army/DARPA/ONR: Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Joint Airborne Mission Survivability IPT; Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office-Wide; Young Faculty Award (YFA)

Department of Energy: NOI to Issue Notice of Funding Opportunity DE-FOA-0003495 titled Accelerating CO2 Conversion Technology Development and Deployment – Biological, Catalytic, and Mineralization Pathways: Environmental System Science (ESS)

DHS releases guidance for AI in critical infrastructure: The Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new series of recommendations for the safe use of artificial intelligence tools in U.S. critical infrastructure, breaking down flexible guidance by each sector included in the broader AI supply chain.

Unveiled on Thursday, the Roles and Responsibilities Framework for Artificial Intelligence in Critical Infrastructure — created in consultation with Homeland’s internal Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board — tailors recommended actions to specific sectors key to the AI industry. These include cloud and compute infrastructure providers, AI developers, critical infrastructure owners and operators, civil society and public sector entities. DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said this guidance is “groundbreaking” in regards to being the first such document that was created through “extensive collaboration” with a board that included AI developers themselves to help civil society responsibly deploy these softwares. More information is posted on the NextGov website.

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An agency-by-agency look at Trump's plan to overhaul government: President-elect Trump’s victory promises to bring wholesale shakeups to government operations, as the former commander-in-chief re-enters office with far-ranging ideas to change agency missions.  Trump has vowed to relocate agency headquarters, end the merit-based civil service for some segments of the federal workforce, require government employees to take constitutional exams and other changes to executive branch management. Some of his more signature policy ideas, however, will also require sweeping changes to how agencies operate. Trump has vowed to sidestep any efforts to block his agenda, in part by fighting in court or Congress to revoke the 1974 Impoundment Control Act. That law prohibits the executive branch from withholding Congressionally appropriated funds for policy reasons. The president-elect has not yet said whether he would institute a governmentwide hiring freeze upon taking office, as he did in 2017. More information is posted on the NextGov website.