Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
I write today to announce that Dr. Tatiana Litvin-Vechnyak, currently Associate Vice President for Innovation Ventures at Rutgers University, will serve as Georgetown University’s new Vice President for Technology Commercialization starting February 1, 2023.
Dr. Litvin-Vechnyak brings significant experience and expertise to this critical role, having led the Rutgers Innovation Ventures team’s management of approximately 1,260 technologies, 2,600 patent assets, 800 licenses and 90 startup companies. She holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Cornell University Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences and a B.A. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Clark University. She has done Postdoctoral Research at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey where she was a recipient of the Gallo Award for Outstanding Cancer Research. Dr. Litvin-Vechnyak is a Registered Patent Agent; has served on a number of boards over the years, including the Research & Development Council of New Jersey; and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of AUTM -the Association of University Technology Managers.
As you may know, the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) manages the university’s intellectual property, invention disclosures, patenting and licensing activities, research collaboration agreements, material transfer agreements, confidentiality agreements, data use agreements, and copyright and other intellectual property agreements between the university, faculty and other external entities. It also oversees the engagement of the university in the founding of startup companies, and provides assistance to university entrepreneurs in starting their own companies.
I wish to sincerely thank Dr. Ruchika Nijhara for her leadership and service as Interim Vice President for Technology Commercialization while we conducted this year-long national search.
I hope you will join me in welcoming Dr. Litvin-Vechnyak to our university, and I hope that, in the near future, you will find an opportunity to meet her in person and exchange your perspectives and vision on technology commercialization.
Gratefully,
Spiros Dimolitsas
Senior Vice President for Research & Chief Technology Officer