Penelope Gianelli
Penny assists in arranging the material transfer agreements (MTAs) for researchers to receive or send research materials. These are predominately (but not all) in the nature of “scientific sharing” for academic research and do not include fee-for-service agreements (DSP), purchase agreements (Procurement), sponsored research or grants (DSP), or clinical trial agreements (OCT). When materials are […]
Rachel Harding
Rachel serves as a licensing officer, working with researchers in the life sciences, usually in the medical or biomedical space. Previously, Rachel worked as the licensing liaison, working in concert with the licensing teams to review and track biological materials and related rights, particularly those related to AAV gene therapy. Now she works to protect […]
Sally Helgeson
Sally joined UF Innovate | Tech Licensing as a licensing associate in September 2019. In October 2023, she was promoted to compliance manager & analyst. A Navy veteran and native of Michigan, Sally has held various executive support positions throughout her career. Upon her discharge from the Navy, she began working for the criminal court […]
Pamela Kelly
Melissa Kuchma
In 2020, Melissa joined UF Innovate | Tech Licensing as a licensing officer and works in the medical, biotechnology, chemical, and software disciplines to connect faculty and their inventions with licensees. An active member of the Florida startup community, she is the founder of a medical device company working in the field of pharmacogenomics. She […]
Hera Lichtenbeld
Hera joined UF Innovate | Tech Licensing in March 2019 as a licensing officer, mostly working in the medical and biomedical disciplines. She works closely with faculty to help protect and license their innovations. Before joining UF Innovate, Hera worked for almost 20 years in industry, most recently in Program Management at ThermoFisher (former BrammerBio) […]
Leah Manning
Leah is the Contracts Analyst for UF Innovate | Tech Licensing. If you have questions, are experiencing technical difficulties, or need a troubleshooter, she is the person to call. Leah receives, assigns, and processes agreements for the licensing teams. In addition, Leah works with three licensing teams to help coordinate their conversations with inventors and/or […]
Dawn Meyers
Manager, Administrative Services Dawn supervises two administrative support assistants who, in turn, support 12 Tech Licensing staff members. She assists Jim O’Connell, who directs Tech Licensing and the umbrella organization, UF Innovate. She also assists Jackson Streeter, Director of UF Innovate | Ventures. And in those ways (and many more), Dawn assists all members of […]
Jim O’Connell
Jim serves as the Assistant Vice President for Commercialization, leading UF Innovate, the umbrella organization over Tech Licensing, Sid Martin Biotech and The Hub. Jim is also the director of Tech Licensing. He works with internal and external constituents to provide strategic leadership and direction in building and capitalizing on facilities, expertise and technology at […]
Adrienne Pennell
As Financial Analyst/Contracts Administrator Adrienne provides pertinent metrics for the Tech Licensing office to the UF Board of Trustees, the State University System Board of Governors, to departments and colleges across campus, as well as to AUTM, the professional organization that completes an annual licensing survey of universities before issuing a fiscal year ranking. Adrienne […]