The influence of Washington D.C. corridor issues on tech transfer (technology transfer) operations significantly affects tech transfer professionals in several key ways. From navigating the regulatory environments of compliance and IP to funding, to ethical considerations, there’s a lot to unpack when it comes to translating policy into practice. I’m excited to talk with Dr. Sheila Kadura as she shares her wealth of knowledge and experience on tech transfer and regulatory policy. 

Dr. Sheila Kadura serves as Associate General Counsel at the University of Texas System, where she is responsible for a broad range of intellectual property matters. Her areas of expertise include patents, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, sponsored research, clinical trials, and the commercialization and licensing of technology.

Active both locally and nationally in the intellectual property community, Dr. Kadura contributes significantly to its development and networking. She holds a position on the Executive Board as the Mentorship Chair for the Honorable Lee Yeakel Intellectual Property Inn of Court. Additionally, she serves as the Sponsorship & Finance Advisor for the Texas Chapter of ChIPs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing and connecting women in technology, law, and policy.

In This Episode:

[02:11] Effective strategies for navigating favorable policy changes to support tech transfer. It's important to have open lines of communication with all of the different involved institutions.

[03:18] With open lines of communication, Dr. Kadura can ask about individual pain points and share information about policy changes.

[04:35] Underestimated challenges include explaining the process to people. Tech transfer is a positive thing for everyone involved, but the nuances can be complex.

[06:10] Universities and the government do not have the resources to take intellectual property and turn it into a product. This is why patents and partnerships are so important. Research is different from testing, perfecting, and manufacturing a product.

[07:30] It's important to communicate with the licensee about how regulation will impact them with the development of a product.

[09:00]  Emerging technologies and how to best protect intellectual property. Is this something we can patent? Or protected by copyright? This will influence how it's licensed.

[11:00] Bridging the gap between legal intricacies and scientific innovation includes explaining why the law matters and how to protect the property.

[12:27] Dr. Kadura talks about mentoring and still practicing the law. She also likes to point out ways that innovation that's coming out of the system is helping the world.

[15:28] We learn about strategies that help foster a culture of innovation within universities and research institutions. Most of this happens at the university level. Success stories help illustrate the effect of innovation. Training and engaging more faculty is also used.

[17:05] There are a lot of questions about the changes in march-in rights. The negative effect on tech transfer could be that licensees are less willing to work with us. 

[19:16] There will also continue to be a lot of activity around AI. The US patent office recently issued its guidance on ai-enabled inventions. There will also be a lot of regulation around data use.

[19:51] The most pressing priorities for tech transfer professionals include protecting and growing the tech transfer ecosystem for those of us who believe that tech transfer is good. This includes having the ability to identify the things that result in less tech transfer and less licensing.

[21:10] Keep your government regulation people informed and relate it back to the whole goal of higher education.

Resources: 

Sheila Kadura Associate General Counsel The University of Texas System

Sheila Kadura LinkedIn