Meet the Team
Greetings!
Meet the dedicated and talented group of professionals in Emory's Technology Transfer Office. We look forward to working with you! Not sure who to contact? Call us at 404-727-2211 or contact someone below.
Leadership
Todd Sherer
Assoc. VP for Research, Executive Director
Contact Information
Email: ttshere@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-5550
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctorate, Toxicology and Molecular Biology, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
Biography
Dr. Todd Sherer is the Associate Vice President of Research, and Executive Director for the Office of Technology Transfer at Emory University. He has worked extensively with researchers to translate their promising scientific and medical discoveries into new products that benefit society. This crucial activity helps assure that research is translated into practical applications, including new life-saving medical products that benefit the public who helped to fund it. He has helped pioneer new funding models to support the translation of research and worked globally to identify, test, and implement best practices to increase the impact of academic technology commercialization. Todd has also worked with colleagues to affect federal policy and guidelines that address new intellectual property flowing from federally-funded research.
He held similar roles at Oregon Health & Science University, the University of Oregon, and Washington State University. He received his PhD in Pharmacology/Toxicology from Washington State University and a BS degree from Oregon State University. He is a Past President of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), the professional association representing more than 3,000 technology transfer professionals from more than 30 countries. Todd is a Registered Patent Agent (RPA) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. He is also a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP™) and a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP).
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Linda Kesselring
Operations Director
Contact Information
Email: lkessel@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-3857
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Masters of Business Administration, Management Information Systems, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
- Bachelor of Science, Business Management, Niagara University, Niagara Falls, NY
Biography
Linda is the first Operations Director for the office, a member of the senior leadership team, and a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP™). She is responsible for assisting the Executive Director and team leaders in all operational activities and manages the finance team. Key activities include business process, data analysis, finances, marketing & social media, and information technology. She also manages a group of outside contractors and 4-7 undergraduate students that support marketing and communications efforts through research, writing, graphic design, and video. Linda is an active member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM), volunteering as the chair of the website committee and a member of the operations & compliance course committee. Linda previously worked for nine years in Emory's Office of Research Administration as a Sr. Assoc. Director, Programs. Prior to that she spent ten years working in various offices at Syracuse University.
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Licensing
Mark Coburn
Director, Licensing
Contact Information
Email: mcoburn@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 712-4758
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Masters of Science, Technology Manager, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA
- Bachelor of Science, Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH
Biography
Mark is the Director, Licensing with expertise in technology transfer, research administration, startups, and business development. He manages a significant portfolio of inventions and acts as a mentor for intellectual property evaluation, patenting, marketing and licensing. He has a multitude of experiences in technology transfer at five public and private R1-level research institutions during his career before joining Emory in October 2022. As a co-principal investigator of the Upstate Alliance for Innovation, he facilitated the University of Rochester and their partner universities in their efforts as an early recipient of an NSF Partnerships for Innovation award. He has been active in the local innovation ecosystems at the Monterey Bay Education, Science and Technology Center (California), Digital Rochester (New York) and as a board member of the Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council (Virginia). While he was at the University of Rochester, he was a lecturer in Technology Management at the Simon Business School and the School of Medicine’s Department of Community and Preventive Medicine Technology Transfer Practicum for new residents.
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Rajsekhar Guddneppanavar
Assistant Director, Licensing
Contact Information
Email: rguddne@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 712-1185
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctorate, Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India
- Master of Science, Chemistry, Gulbarga University, Gulbarga, India
Biography
Raj is the assistant director, licensing in the office. In this role, he is responsible for case management including identifying, evaluating and licensing inventions. Additionally, he is also responsible for managing the contract specialists team. Prior to that, he was the contract specialist in the office. Before joining the office, Raj completed internships with the Wake Forest Innovations, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Winston-Salem, NC and Office of Technology Transfer, NC State University, Raleigh, NC. Raj received his doctorate in chemistry from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, India. He has postdoctoral and industrial research experience in synthetic organic chemistry and medicinal chemistry. He worked on design, synthesis and development of novel anti-cancer molecules that target kinases, microtubules and DNA. He also worked on GlyT1 inhibitors to treat schizophrenia. He has 16 publications in peer-reviewed journals and presented research at National, International and Regional meetings.
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Vacant
Senior Licensing Associate
Sat Balachander
Licensing Associate
Contact Information
Email: sbalac5@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-4968
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
- Master of Science, Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California
- Bachelor of Technology, Biotechnology, SASTRA University, Tamil Nadu, India
Biography
Sat joined the office in September of 2021. In his role as a Licensing Associate, Sat focuses on identifying, assessing, and licensing inventions. Prior to joining Emory, Sat was a Licensing Associate at the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and he managed a wide portfolio of technologies including software, devices, life science inventions. His responsibilities included technology evaluation, marketing, negotiating agreements, startup formation, and business plan assessment. Sat received his doctorate from Georgia Institute of Technology. His research focused on mapping ribonucleotides in DNA and studying the factors responsible for targeting ribonucleotides.
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Shweta Ghai
Licensing Associate
Contact Information
Email: shweta.ghai@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-2939
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Assam, India
- Bachelor of Technology, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Kurukshetra University, Haryana, India
Biography
Shweta is currently a Licensing Associate in the office, where she manages evaluation and licensing of a portfolio of technologies including software, devices, therapeutics and life science inventions. Prior to this role, Shweta was a Technology Transfer Consultant for the Georgia State University’s Office of Technology Licensing & Commercialization. She transitioned into the field of technology transfer as a Licensing Intern at the Emory OTT in 2018. Shweta received her doctorate in Electronics and Electrical Engineering, specializing in speech and natural language processing, from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, India. She also contributed over six years to scientific research and innovation as a postdoc and a research-track faculty at Emory University. Her inter-disciplinary research focused on investigating social communication deficits in autism and developing new voice-based quantitative biomarkers for early detection of autism in infants and toddlers. She has 13 publications in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings and has presented research at 12 National and International meetings.
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David Mudd
Licensing Associate
Contact Information
Email: david.mudd@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-3890
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctorate, Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, Michigan
Biography
David is a Licensing Associate in the office, where he manages licensing of a portfolio of technologies. David was previously a Contract Specialist in the office. His background is in neuroscience, and he previously conducted research mapping and understanding the oscillatory signatures of cortical ensembles and afferent projections to the visual cortex, with a focus on the underlying inhibitory circuits. Before joining OTT, David interned with both the patent and licensing teams at Emory, as well as the licensing team at Georgia State University over the course of a year. David earned his PhD in neuroscience from Georgia State University where he studied the development of the visual system and the contributions of early visual experiences on the maturation of inhibitory neural circuits.
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Catherine Murari-Kanti
Licensing Associate
Contact Information
Email: cmurari@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-0057
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctorate of Philosophy, Cancer Research, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
- Masters of Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska
- Bachelors of Science, Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Mumbai, Mumbai, India
Biography
As a Licensing Associate at the office, Catherine is responsible for evaluating and commercializing inventions. Before her time at Emory, Catherine spent five years as a Licensing Specialist at UNeMed, the technology transfer office for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and University of Nebraska Omaha. She managed a mixed portfolio of medical devices, software, research tools, therapeutics and related life science inventions. Catherine received her doctorate from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and her research included elucidating the various epigenetic pathways in Colorectal and Pancreatic Cancer.
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Jessica Beach
Marketing Specialist
Contact Information
Email: jbeach4@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-1899
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Bachelor of Arts, Advertising, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Biography
Jessica Beach, Marketing Specialist in the Licensing Group, joined the office in 2021. Prior to joining Emory OTT, Jessica was a Marketing Associate & Analyst at Metabo HPT where she specialized in marketing and social media. Jessica got her Bachelor of Arts in Advertising from the University of Georgia.
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Asher Alt
Marketing Specialist
Contact Information
Email: aalt@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 544-9004
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Bachelor of Journalism, Strategic Communication, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
- Bachelor of Arts, Theatre Performance, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
Biography
Asher joined OTT as a Marketing Specialist in 2023. Prior to this position, she was a writer, editor, and content creator at several advertising agencies across the country and as a freelancer. Asher has written for national banks and local mom-and-pop shops, and she has extensive experience in social media and omnichannel marketing. She looks forward to applying these skills to her role at OTT. Asher is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri, where she obtained degrees in journalism and theatre.
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Maru David
Contract Specialist
Latika Luthra
Contract Specialist
Contact Information
Email: lluthra@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-8508
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Master of Science, Biomedical Sciences, University of Delhi, India
- Bachelor of Science, Biomedical Sciences, University of Delhi, India
Biography
Latika is currently the Contract Specialist in the office. She manages, reviews, and negotiates Material Transfer Agreements, Data Use Agreements, Confidential Disclosure Agreements, and other agreements related to facilitating research and commercialization at Emory University. Before joining Emory OTT, Latika contributed over five years to scientific research and innovation as a PhD in biomedical sciences. Her interdisciplinary research focused on investigating the role of Notch-1 in mucosal wound healing in ulcerative colitis. She transitioned into the field of technology transfer as a Licensing Intern at the Emory OTT in 2021, where she evaluated a portfolio of technologies including therapeutics, diagnostics, and drug discovery. Latika has also served as a scientific advisor in a Philadelphia-based law firm, where she assisted with patent prosecution, strategic management of patent portfolios, building freedom-to-operate opinions, and due diligence analysis.
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Freda Stelzer
Contract Specialist
Contact Information
Email: fstelze@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-1969
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Juris Doctorate, Law, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
- Bachelor of Arts, Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Biography
Freda is a Contract Specialist in the office and joined in 2020. Freda manages review and negotiation of Material Transfer Agreements, Data Use Agreements, Confidential Disclosure Agreements, and other agreements related to facilitating research and commercialization at Emory. Prior to joining Emory OTT, Freda managed contracts at the University of Iowa Research Foundation, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Freda holds a bachelor in arts from the University of California, Berkeley, and a juris doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.
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Kim Dunn
Compliance Associate
Contact Information
Email: kdunn5@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-5262
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Paralegal Certificate, American Institute for Paralegal Studies, Atlanta, GA
Biography
Kimberly joined Emory's Office of Technology Transfer in 2017 and serves as the Compliance Associate handling matters associated with Federal compliance of university developed IP, license diligence for exclusive and nonexclusive licenses and other related agreements. Prior to joining the office, Kimberly worked as a foreign prosecution paralegal for an Intellectual Property boutique firm in Atlanta and is a certified paralegal in the State of Georgia. Previous to that, she held the position of Patents Administrator at Georgia Tech Research Corporation (GTRC) for over seventeen years. Kimberly brings years of experience from academia with regard to technology transfer. She is an active participant of AUTM and has presented topics at conferences and webinars on patent administration for small offices.
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Faculty and Start-up Services
Patrick Reynolds
Director, Faculty and Start-up Services
Contact Information
Email: pjreyno@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-7241
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Doctorate, Cancer Biology, University of NOrth Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
- Bachelor in Arts, Molecular Biology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO
Biography
Patrick is the Director of Faculty & Start-up Services. He works with faculty and entrepreneurs to help them navigate the waters of starting a company to commercialize their technologies and obtain early stage funding. He was previously the University Program Director for the National Security Innovation Network (a Department of Defense program office), where his role was focused on finding the best technologies, talent, and startups across the state of GA to solve national security problems for the DoD. Other previous roles have involved commercializing intellectual property for the University of Tennessee, scaling a music technology startup, and consulting. Patrick obtained his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where his research focused on defects in ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation. He also serves on AUTM’s Public Policy committee.
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Michael Tanenbaum
Assistant Director, Faculty and Start-up Services
Contact Information
Email: mtanen2@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-5169
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Juris Doctor, Law, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
- Master of Science, Bioengineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
- Bachelor of Science, Bioengineering, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
Biography
Michael is the Assistant Director of Faculty and Start-up Services. In this role, Michael facilitates innovation through identifying intellectual property, supporting translational research, and assisting start-up development. He has extensive work experience in both university and industry settings. His first ten years in university roles were in biomedical research and technology transfer, and his next seven years in industry positions were in product and business development and as in-house legal counsel. He has degrees in bioengineering (MS from Georgia Institute of Technology and BS from University of Georgia) as well as law (JD from Georgia State University). Michael is excited to apply the knowledge he gained from industry to Emory’s Office of Technology Transfer. He is a named inventor on two U.S. patents.
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Patent Group
Laura Fahey Fritts
Director, License and Patent Strategy & Chief Intellectual Property Officer
Contact Information
Email: lfahey@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-1179
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Juris Doctorate, Law, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
- Masters of Public Health/Masters of Business Administration, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama
- Bachelors of Art, Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
Biography
Laura Fahey Fritts, Director of Patent and License Strategy and Chief Intellectual Property Officer, joined Emory's Office of Technology Transfer in 2014. Laura manages Emory's in-house patent group, assists the licensing team with license negotiation, monitors licensees' performance post-license, and ensures the university's compliance with all government reporting obligations under the Bayh-Dole Act. She serves on the Executive Committee for the Atlanta IP Inn of Court, sits on the Advisory Board for Georgia PATENTS, and has taught Patent Law at Emory Law School.
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Randi Isaacs
Patent Counsel
James Mason
Patent Counsel
Kristi Rebel
Patent Manager
Vacant
Patent Specialist
Finance
LaShonda Holland
Senior Financial Analyst
Contact Information
Email: lholla8@emory.edu
Phone: (404) 727-5260
Mailing Address:
1599 Clifton Rd., 4th Floor
Atlanta, GA 30322
Education
- Certified Public Accountant, State of Georgia
- Masters of Business Administration, Accounting Concentration, University of Phoenix, Phoenix AZ
- Bachelor of Science, Accounting, Albany State University, Albany, GA
Biography
LaShonda is a member of the office's Financial Team. Her position includes coordinating major financial reporting/budgeting activities, managing the correction of account balances, resolving funding issues, and maintaining proper accounting controls/procedures. Prior to joining Emory she served as a Financial Analyst for Turner Broadcasting in the Sports Finance Department. LaShonda has over 10+ years of experience in general accounting, tax accounting, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.
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Maritta Allison
Senior Accountant