Director, Collaborations Partnering & Strategy
Washington D.C. Metro AreaBiotechnology
MedImmune
Dr. Gayatri Varma was appointed Executive Director of the Office of Technology Commercialization in March 2009 after a two year tenure as Acting Executive Director. Dr. Varma joined the OTC team in 1997 as a graduate student to assist with the evaluation and marketing of the university’s life science technologies. She has advanced through the ranks as technology associate, senior technology manager, and associate director to her current appointment. Dr. Varma holds a bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Bombay University, Bombay, India; a master’s degree in microbiology from M.S. University in Baroda, India; and a doctoral degree in molecular and cell biology from the University of Maryland. She is a registered Patent Agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Working with the College of Life Sciences, Dr. Varma has been instrumental in instituting bi-monthly office hours for faculty, staff, and students to discuss their research, the technology transfer, commercialization, and patenting processes, and alternative careers. Due to the success of Life Science office hours, Dr. Varma has helped MTECH implement its own monthly entrepreneurship office hours. Dr. Varma is a member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). In addition to presenting a series of start-up company-related panel topics for their annual conference, she is a member of their Annual Meeting Program Committee. Dr. Varma is also a member of the Licensing Executives Society (LES).