PODCAST · technology
AUTM on the Air
by AUTM
AUTM on the AIR is the weekly podcast that brings you conversations about the impact of research commercialization and the people who make it happen. Join us for interviews with patent and licensing professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech transfer leaders on the issues and trends that matter most.
Episodes
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Unfettered Invention: How the X Patents Sparked Early American Technology with Scott B. Guthery, Julie Burke, and Michael Risch
What happens when nearly 10,000 patents from the earliest years of the American patent system are lost, scattered, or destroyed? Those records tell a much bigger story than who invented what. They capture a period when inventors were solving practical problems, sometimes arriving at the same…
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AUTM’s New Canadian Public Policy Advisory Committee with Sarrah Lal
Canada has a strong research base, but turning discoveries into lasting economic and societal value is not always easy. In this episode of AUTM on the Air, I talk with Sarrah Lal about the launch of AUTM’s Canadian Public Policy Advisory Committee, or CPPAC. As the committee’s inaugural chair,...
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D. Max Crowley - What if Universities Have Built the Wrong Scorecard?
Technology transfer offices usually keep score with patents, licenses, startups and revenue. It's real proof research is moving beyond the lab. Yet it can miss some of the most interesting parts of the story. A technology might reshape clinical practice, influence public policy or strengthen a...
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Feel Your Best Self with Dr. Sandy Chafouleas, Emily Wicks, and Dr. Christopher Conners
Some of the most impactful innovations don’t fit neatly into the traditional technology transfer model. Feel Your Best Self began during the COVID-19 pandemic as a collaboration between educational psychology and puppetry at the University of Connecticut, with a simple goal: give children...
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Why Global Capital is Betting on University Research with Steve Susalka and Stuart Wilkinson
University research can produce ideas with enormous potential, but turning those discoveries into something that reaches the market is rarely straightforward. Funding is part of the equation, but so are timing, evidence, relationships, and the ability to connect promising technologies with the...
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Michael Coyle - Drug Repurposing and Repositioning SIG
Drug repurposing and reformulation can open new possibilities for therapies that already exist, but these projects come with commercialization challenges that can look very different from traditional drug development. Questions around patent protection, regulatory pathways, market exclusivity…
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A National Treasure: How UAB’s Moon Nahm Revolutionized the Global Fight Against Pneumococcal Disease
Pneumococcal disease remains a serious global health threat, particularly for young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Developing effective vaccines has never been simple. The bacterium can produce roughly 100 different serotypes, each protected by its own sugar...
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PanCystPro™ and Early Pancreatic Cancer Detection with Diana Caldwell and Joseph Kasper
Pancreatic cancer remains one of the most difficult cancers to detect early, and that challenge leaves clinicians and patients facing uncertainty when pancreatic cysts are discovered during imaging for other health concerns. In this episode of AUTM on the Air, we look at how a discovery from a...
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A New Golden Age — What the White House’s Research Overhaul Means for Tech Transfer with Jeffrey Mervis
The way the federal government supports scientific research could be headed for a significant shift. A new White House report, *Science: A New Golden Age*, lays out a different vision for federal research funding—one that places less emphasis on the traditional university-centered grant model and...
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Patents, Plant Variety Protection, CRISPR, and What Every TTO Needs to Know with Heidi Sease Nebel
Plant discoveries can be some of the trickiest inventions for a technology transfer office to manage. A new variety may come out of years of breeding work, field trials, university research, or newer tools like CRISPR, but the protection strategy is not always obvious. Depending on the plant, the...
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Collective Behavior, Decentralized Systems, and Lessons from Ant Colonies with Deborah M. Gordon
It might seem like a leap to connect ant colonies with technology transfer, but the connection is closer than it sounds. Ant colonies operate without a boss, a formal plan, or anyone directing traffic, yet they still find food, protect the colony, respond to threats, and adjust when conditions...
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Training the Next Generation of Innovation Leaders with Kendra Hargis-Stenzel
Training the next generation of technology transfer and commercialization leaders requires more than exposure to the field. It also means helping researchers think earlier about the real-world impact of their work, the communities they hope to serve, and the pathways that can move an idea beyond...
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Advancing Biopharma Innovation with Ruben Flores-Saaib
Biopharma commercialization has always required more than a promising discovery. It takes the right team, the right timing, and often, the right kind of capital to move an idea from the university lab toward patients. My guest is Ruben Flores-Saaib, PhD, Senior Director of Investments and…
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World Intellectual Property Report 2026: Technology on the Move with Intan M. Hamdan-Livramento and Julio D. Raffo
A breakthrough can happen in one lab, but its real value depends on what happens next. How does a new technology move beyond its point of origin, reach the people and industries that can use it, and eventually become part of everyday life? The World Intellectual Property Organization’s “World...
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Why Communication Matters in IP Strategy with Stephen Hall
University IP strategy can look straightforward from the outside. Protect the invention, manage the policy, move the technology toward the market. But anyone working inside a tech transfer office knows the process is rarely that simple. Faculty inventors, licensing teams, university leaders,...
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How Venture Philanthropy Helps Move Rare Disease Research Forward with Tim Brent
Getting discoveries out of the lab is only part of the commercialization journey. At some point, a promising idea reaches the stage where investment decisions can determine whether the science moves forward, stalls out, or becomes something that can truly reach patients. That moment is especially...
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How Thermo Fisher Evaluates University Innovation with Hsiaoli Chen
Industry partnerships can look very different depending on which side of the table you’re sitting on. For technology transfer professionals, the work often centers on preparing the opportunity, supporting the inventor, protecting the IP, and finding the right commercial partner. For companies…
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Royalty Stacks: Turning Tech Transfer Into a Strategy Game with Guru Venkatesan
Technology transfer is often described through patents, licenses, startups, and commercialization strategy, but rarely through the lens of a board game. In this episode of AUTM on the Air, we talk with Guru Venkatesan, a business development manager at Fred Hutch and the creator of Royalty…
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How Novartis Approaches External Research Collaboration with Dr. Yogesh Sharma
University-industry partnerships often sound straightforward from the outside. A promising discovery is made, a company sees potential, and a collaboration begins. But anyone who has worked inside these agreements knows the reality is far more complex. Research goals, publication timelines, IP...
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Bridging the Early-Stage Funding Gap in Innovation with Teri Willey
There’s a stretch of time in innovation where things feel the most uncertain, when the science is promising but the path forward isn’t clear and the capital hasn’t quite caught up. It’s a space that can quietly stall even the most compelling ideas. In this episode, the conversation zeroes in on...
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Detecting Alzheimer’s Earlier with a Simple Blood Test with Yuanbing Jiang
Early detection is everything when it comes to Alzheimer’s, but for years, the tools available have made that nearly impossible at scale. Today’s conversation takes a closer look at a breakthrough that could change that equation in a very real way. My guest is Dr. Yuanbing Jiang, also known as...
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Turning Research into Real World Impact from the Inside Out with Ravini Moodley
Most people focus on the breakthrough, but there is a massive gap between a scientific discovery and a product that actually reaches the public. Today, we’re stepping into the "engine room" of one of Africa’s premier research institutions to see how that gap is bridged. My guest is Ravini…
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Timing, Trust, and Technical Credibility Building, the Long Game with Ram Krishnan
One of the biggest shifts in technology transfer over the past decade isn’t just the pace of innovation. It’s the realization that value isn’t created at a single moment. It builds over time, shaped by how well research, intellectual property, and real-world application stay aligned. The…
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The Missing Link Between Research and Real-World Impact with Ben Reinhardt
There’s a moment every tech transfer professional recognizes, when a discovery feels like it could matter, but you can’t quite see how it gets from the lab into the real world. That gap is where a lot of promising ideas stall out. In this episode, the conversation takes a closer look at that...
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Thriving in Small Tech Transfer Offices with Caitlin Long and Sanaz Shahi
Collaboration is one of the defining strengths of the technology transfer community, and it often becomes even more important when resources are limited. This conversation takes a closer look at what it really means to operate in a small or under-resourced office, where the work can feel both...
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Cleaning Up Forever: How AI and Membrane Science Are Taking PFAS Out of Our Water with Dr. Yongsheng Chen
Clean water plays a fundamental role in health, safety, and quality of life. This Earth Day conversation takes a closer look at PFAS, often called “forever chemicals,” and the growing challenge they pose to drinking water systems across the United States and beyond. My guest is Dr. Yongsheng…
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Startup Success Starts with the Problem, Not the Tech with Marc Filerman
Turning research into something that actually works in the real world sounds straightforward, but it rarely is. There’s a gap between discovery and impact that trips up even the most promising ideas, and it often has less to do with the science and more to do with how the problem is framed,...
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Deciding When Research Should Become a Startup with Omar Zahr
One of the toughest calls in technology transfer isn’t deciding whether a discovery is interesting or even promising. It’s deciding whether that discovery should become a company at all. There’s a big difference between a strong piece of research and something that can support a venture-backed...
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Building Strong Industry Academic Partnerships with Mark Fairey
Some of the most meaningful industry–academic partnerships don’t begin with a breakthrough headline or a flashy piece of technology. More often, they take shape around a real research need, a practical solution, and a willingness to keep showing up and working through the details over time.…
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A Father's Mission: How Danyelza Became a Life-Saving Therapy for Pediatric Neuroblastoma with Dr. Nai-Kong Cheung, Dr. Yashodhara Dash & Dr. Imke Ehlers-Surur
Sometimes the most powerful innovations come from the most personal places. This episode tells the extraordinary story of Danyelza (naxitamab), a life-saving immunotherapy for children with neuroblastoma, and how it earned a finalist spot in the AUTM Better World Project. What makes this story...
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Tokenizing the Future: How Brilliance Is Creating a New Model for IP Ownership and Investment with Chris Hack and Geoffrey Smith
If you've ever thought that intellectual property was just for lawyers, patent professionals, and the occasional venture capitalist, today's episode might change your mind. We're talking about what it would look like if anyone, your neighbor, your parents, maybe even a seven-year-old with a…
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The Industry Side of the Table: How Samsung Evaluates University Partnerships with David Chang
If you've ever wondered what's actually going on inside a company's head when a university comes knocking with a new technology, today's episode is for you. We're getting into the real mechanics of university-industry partnerships and what makes them work, what slows them down, and where the...
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Understanding Why AI Innovations Struggle to Scale in Healthcare with Adam Brickman
One of the biggest challenges in tech transfer isn't generating innovation — it's helping promising technologies move from early success into sustained, real-world use. That pattern shows up across industries, but today we're going to explore it through one fast-moving example: AI in healthcare.…
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Understanding What’s Happening in Washington, D.C. and Why It Matters for Tech Transfer with Mike Waring
Policy conversations can feel distant until they land squarely on the desks of technology transfer professionals. Coming to you from the AUTM Annual Meeting in Seattle, we’re taking a closer look at what’s unfolding in Washington, D.C., and why it matters for research commercialization, patents,...
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Be Brilliant Urgently, Advancing Parkinson’s Research Through Partnerships with Michelle Durborow
Breakthrough therapies do not begin with commercialization, yet without it, many breakthroughs never reach patients. That tension sits at the center of this conversation with Michelle Durborow, Vice President of Research Operations at the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, where...
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Rebranding for Impact, How URI Is Scaling Research Commercialization with Peter Rumsey and Allison Markova
Real-world impact doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intention, structure, and a willingness to rethink how research moves beyond the university. That’s the inflection point the University of Rhode Island Research Foundation has reached as it rebrands to URI Innovations. This shift signals more...
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How the Technology Transfer Handbook Was Built in Five Days with James Filpi, Joy Goswami, Michael Samardzija, and Alysa Khouri
Technology Transfer: A Policy Primer for the Commercialization of Intellectual Property and Invention offers a practical policy and practice framework designed for use across institutions and jurisdictions. In this episode, we talk about how the handbook came together, including the decision to…
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Meet AUTM’s New Board Members: Laura Schoppe and Patricia Stepp (Part 2)
Last week, we kicked off a special two-part series with three of the five women joining the AUTM Board of Directors in February 2026. Today, we’re completing that conversation with Laura Schoppe, Chief Commercialization Officer at TechPipeline, and Patricia Stepp, Assistant Vice President for...
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Meet AUTM’s New Board Members: Katie Butcher, Felicia Metz, and Maithili Shroff (Part 1)
Over the next two weeks, we’re doing something a little different, with a special two-part conversation featuring five extraordinary women who will be joining the AUTM Board of Directors in February 2026. To give us the space to really dig in, we split these conversations across two episodes, so…
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Building the Blue Economy at Seaworthy Collective with Tamara Kahn Zissman
We’re diving into the blue economy with a fascinating conversation about ocean innovation and entrepreneurship. The discussion focuses on the practical reality of building ocean-focused companies, including the scientific complexity, regulatory hurdles, funding constraints, and long development...
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Lessons From the WIPO-AUTM Knowledge and Technology Transfer Summit with Steve Susalka
In November 2025, Bangkok, Thailand became the epicenter of a global conversation about the future of innovation. Leaders from around the world gathered for the WIPO-AUTM Knowledge and Technology Transfer Summit, creating a rare space for open discussion about what is working, what is strained…
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Building Resilience in Tech Transfer with Dr. Daniel Boamah and Dr. Kimberly Green
This is the second episode in our special series on mental health and Tech Transfer. If you missed our first conversation with Jane Wainwright, I encourage you to go back and listen. It’s a candid look at why this topic matters and why it deserves real attention, not to be pushed to the side....
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The Origin of Technology Transfer Professionals Day with Chad Riggs
Every now and then, someone inside a Tech Transfer office tries something small, something meant for their own team, and it ends up resonating far beyond their campus. That’s the path our guest followed, and it’s a great reminder of how ideas in this profession can ripple outward in ways we don’t...
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Rethinking the Future of University Funding with Dr. Yasheng Huang
There’s a fundamental shift happening in the world of American research universities, and people across higher education are feeling it. Funding that once seemed dependable is now uncertain, and the pressure coming from political and economic changes is hard to overlook. More and more, leaders…
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Improving Mental Health Across IP and Tech Transfer with Jane Wainwright
Mental health is increasingly a focus in Tech Transfer as people try to keep pace with heavy workloads, fast-moving deadlines, and the pressure to make the right call with limited time and information. To bring more attention to what professionals are experiencing, we’re opening a new series on...
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Global Insights on University Commercialization with Todd Davey and Medisa Focic
Few studies have explored the global state of university intellectual property commercialization as deeply as this brief, Unlocking University IP: Global Insights into Commercialization Challenges and Opportunities. In this episode, we take a close look at that landmark UIIN Insights Brief with…
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Building a Model for Non-Dilutive Funding Success with Sam Tetlow
Few people bridge the worlds of engineering, venture capital, and biotech entrepreneurship the way Sam Tetlow does. After early years at General Electric and a successful run in venture capital, Sam founded The Grant Engine out of frustration with a broken system with too many brilliant…
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Innovation Needs Connection: Finding the Human Side of Tech Transfer with Joe Runge
It’s often the connections between people that keep innovation burning bright. My guest today is Joe Runge. He’s spent more than two decades exploring that truth from several angles, including as a practicing patent lawyer, published scientist, educator, and veteran of the innovation economy. Joe...
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Accelerating Startups with Michael Lyon
Some people talk about innovation. Others live it. Michael Lyon has built a career that bridges worlds most of us only dream about, from helping launch the first space tourists to diving miles beneath the ocean surface, and now mentoring the next generation of tech entrepreneurs. A Harvard Law...
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Driving Vision Forward: Inside the Foundation Fighting Blindness with CEO Jason Menzo
Fighting blindness requires science, strategy, and a great deal of heart. Today’s guest is Jason Menzo, CEO of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the world’s largest private funder of retinal disease research. Since assuming the role in 2022, after serving as President and COO, Jason has helped...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
AUTM on the AIR is the weekly podcast that brings you conversations about the impact of research commercialization and the people who make it happen. Join us for interviews with patent and licensing professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech transfer leaders on the issues and trends that matter most.
HOSTED BY
AUTM
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does AUTM on the Air have?
AUTM on the Air currently has 324 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is AUTM on the Air about?
AUTM on the AIR is the weekly podcast that brings you conversations about the impact of research commercialization and the people who make it happen. Join us for interviews with patent and licensing professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs, and tech transfer leaders on the issues and trends that...
How often does AUTM on the Air release new episodes?
AUTM on the Air publishes regularly with 324 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to AUTM on the Air?
You can listen to AUTM on the Air on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts AUTM on the Air?
AUTM on the Air is created and hosted by AUTM.
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