AUTM on the Air

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 community without ever producing a commercial outcome that fits neatly into an annual report. As tech transfer evolves, there's a growing opportunity to look past the traditional scorecard and ask how does university research actually create value, how can that value be tracked, and how can TTOs make those connections more visible?
I'm joined by Dr. D. Max Crowley, Director of the Prevention Research Center at Penn State, the C. Eugene Bennett Chair in Prevention, Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Public Policy, and Director of the Evidence to Impact Collaborative. His work sits at the intersection of prevention science, economics, public policy and implementation, focused on translating research into better outcomes for children and families. He's been funded by the NIH, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and other major organizations. His career-long focus on how knowledge moves into practice gives him a distinctive perspective on how we define and measure impact in tech transfer.
We talk about what it means to treat commercialization as one stop on a much longer road from discovery to real-world use. We talk about why relationships with industry, government, healthcare systems, nonprofits and communities can matter as much as the transaction itself. TTOs are uniquely positioned to help universities track where their research actually ends up. We also dig into the challenge of measuring impact that can take years to surface, the limits of short-term metrics, and what belongs on a more meaningful impact dashboard. 

In This Episode:
[03:04] Why universities may be using the wrong scorecard to measure research impact and what a broader definition of success could look like.
[04:39] Traditional tech transfer metrics such as patents, licenses, startups, and revenue only capture part of the value created by university research.
[07:58] The growing opportunity for TTOs to take a leadership role in demonstrating the broader public impact of research.
[11:56] Moving discoveries from basic research into real-world use requires stronger connections across the university rather than leaving the responsibility solely to technology transfer.
[14:35] Building stronger relationships with licensees can give universities greater insight into what happens after a technology is commercialized.
[18:28] Changing incentives for faculty and staff could encourage greater recognition of research adoption, collaboration, and public impact.
[26:01] Annual reporting requirements can be difficult to reconcile with meaningful outcomes that may take years or decades to emerge.
[29:00] A broader impact dashboard could track external partnerships, policy influence, and where university research is actually being used.
[32:59] One practical place for TTOs to begin is by mapping their existing relationships with government affairs, outreach, and other externally focused offices.
[35:02] Looking ahead, successful TTOs may play a much larger role in telling the complete story of university research and its impact on society.

Resources: 
AUTM
D. Max Crowley, Ph.D. - Penn State
Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative
Overton Index
Pennsylvania’s Public Universities Seek to Strengthen Partnerships, Boost Trust, and Deepen Impact
Daniel Max Crowley - LinkedIn

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 practical, research-based ways to understand and cope with big feelings. What started in a single classroom has since grown into an award-winning toolkit reaching families, educators, and communities far beyond UConn.
Joining us to share the story are Dr. Sandy Chafouleas, Emily Wicks, and Dr. Christopher Conners. Sandy is a Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor and Neag Endowed Professor in UConn’s Department of Educational Psychology and co-founder of the Collaboratory on School and Child Health. Emily is Manager of Operations and Collections at UConn’s Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and Director of Puppetry Education for Feel Your Best Self. Chris is Director of Licensing for Life Sciences at UConn’s Technology Commercialization Services Office, where he helped guide the project through its intellectual property and commercialization journey.
We talk about how an unexpected collaboration between psychology and puppetry became Feel Your Best Self, why creativity and joy are such important parts of teaching emotion-coping skills, and how the team designed the program to remain flexible and accessible. We also explore the university-wide collaboration behind the project, the decision to license a social innovation and create FYBS and Co., and what this experience can teach technology transfer professionals about recognizing valuable innovations that may look very different from the technologies they usually encounter.

In This Episode:
[04:21] We discover the origins of Feel Your Best Self and how a pandemic-era collaboration brought educational psychology and puppetry together.
[07:19] Why they decided to explore an unconventional partnership and how rigorous science and creative expression proved to be a natural fit.
[09:03] The earliest virtual classroom sessions, including puppet kits, short videos, and feedback that helped the team keep the program simple and adaptable.
[12:04] Early responses from teachers and students helped Sandy and Emily realize Feel Your Best Self could become much more than a temporary response to the pandemic.
[15:05] The research behind the program’s Calm, Catch, and Connect framework and why different emotion-coping strategies work for different people and situations.
[18:18] The team discusses the four values that guide Feel Your Best Self credibility, accessibility, joy, and creativity and how those principles shape the program.
[21:09] How puppet making gives children and adults a chance to explore coping strategies together rather than simply being told what they should do.
[23:04] Puppets can lower the stakes around difficult conversations, giving children another way to express emotions that may be uncomfortable to discuss directly.
[25:00] Their surprise at how strongly middle and high school students responded to puppetry and continued using their puppets after the workshops ended.
[27:25] The Feel Your Best Self toolkit includes videos, storybooks, activities, educator resources, puppet-making materials, and other tools that families and professionals can customize to their needs.
[31:11] The thoughtful design process behind creating three characters children could recognize and relate to.
[34:47] How the team turned evidence-based coping techniques into memorable three-step strategies with names children can easily understand and use.
[37:05] Translating Feel Your Best Self into Spanish required the team to think beyond individual words and consider how language and context vary across cultures.
[38:18] UConn’s technology transfer role and why copyright-based and social innovations can create meaningful public impact alongside more traditional patentable technologies.
[41:03] How collaboration with UConn’s Proof of Concept Center transformed puppet-kit production from a labor-intensive manual process into something that could scale.
[44:25] Philanthropic support helped Feel Your Best Self move from small classroom experiments to professional video production, broader dissemination, and national reach.
[46:25] The team explains why UConn licensed Feel Your Best Self to FYBS and Co. and how they balanced free access to the program with physical products and other services needed for continued growth.
[49:23] The unexpected path from a grant-funded passion project to entrepreneurship and the learning curve that came with building a company.
[50:25] Awards and media attention have helped expand the program’s reach, but some of its most meaningful impact comes from seeing educators, families, and communities adapt the resources in their own ways.
[52:25] Reflections on how Feel Your Best Self changed the way UConn’s technology transfer office views social innovations, copyrights, and other projects that fall outside its traditional STEM portfolio.

Resources: 
AUTM
Feel Your Best Self
Dr. Sandy Chafouleas - UConn - Neag School of Education 
Dr. Sandy Chafouleas - LinkedIn
Emily Wicks - UConn - Ballard Institute and Museum
Emily Wicks - LinkedIn
Dr. Christopher Conners - UConn - Technology Commercialization Services
Dr. Christopher Conners - LinkedIn

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 right partners. As research and investment become increasingly global, universities are also looking beyond their own regions and countries for the capital, expertise, and opportunities needed to move innovation forward.
Steve Susalka, CEO of AUTM, and Stuart Wilkinson, CEO of Knowledge Exchange UK, join us to build on a recent Global Roundtable exploring why investors are increasingly looking to universities for new opportunities. Steve and Stuart bring perspectives from two different innovation ecosystems, but their discussion makes clear just how much overlap there is in the challenges universities face. They explore how different types of capital can support research at different stages, why early de-risking matters, and how the role of technology transfer is expanding beyond patents and licensing.
We also dig into the importance of building investor relationships earlier, the growing flow of capital across borders, and the need for universities to think more broadly about impact rather than focusing only on licensing revenue. Steve and Stuart share examples from the U.S., UK, and other countries, while looking at what technology transfer professionals can learn from one another as commercialization becomes more collaborative, more international, and increasingly dependent on strong connections across the innovation ecosystem.

In This Episode:
[02:17] Steve Susalka and Stuart Wilkinson explain how the Global Roundtable grew from conversations about the similarities and differences between innovation ecosystems around the world.
[03:41] The discussion examines whether university innovation faces a shortage of capital or a need for stronger evidence and de-risking to unlock existing investment.
[08:44] International investment creates new opportunities for university startups, but outside funding can also pull companies and economic activity away from their home countries.
[10:41] Different sources of capital, including venture funding, government support, philanthropy, and patient-focused organizations, serve different purposes throughout the commercialization process.
[17:42] Funding models that prioritize societal impact can support important research areas that may not offer the financial returns traditional investors expect.
[23:23] Technology transfer is evolving beyond patents and licensing as universities place greater emphasis on knowledge exchange and broader economic and societal impact.
[29:50] De-risking requires more than funding, with expertise, talent, market knowledge, prototypes, and early validation all helping technologies move closer to commercialization.
[36:10] Strong relationships, shared language, and trust between universities, investors, industry, and government become increasingly important as innovation operates across borders.
[42:03] Universities can strengthen their connections to capital by investing strategically in early de-risking and building relationships with investors beyond their local ecosystems.
[45:28] Differences in terminology, including the meanings of startups and spin-outs, demonstrate why a common language matters in an increasingly global innovation community.
[55:14] Better data, shared expertise, and international collaboration can help universities demonstrate the impact of knowledge exchange and identify new opportunities for investment.
[58:58] The conversation closes with a look at upcoming Global Roundtables and opportunities for continued collaboration across the international technology transfer community.

Resources: 
AUTM
Why Global Capital is Betting on University Research
Steve Susalka, CEO of AUTM
Steve Susalka - LinkedIn
Knowledge Exchange UK
Stuart Wilkinson - LinkedIn

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, and industry interest can all affect whether a promising opportunity ever makes it out of the university.
Helping us explore this unique area of tech transfer is Michael Coyle, a licensing officer at Vanderbilt University’s Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization. Mike manages more than 200 technology disclosures across roughly 45 therapeutic research programs, but his path into tech transfer began in the lab, where Parkinson’s disease research led him through NSF I-Corps, the launch of a startup, and eventually into licensing. That experience also helped inspire him to create AUTM’s Drug Repurposing and Reformulation SIG.
We talk about what Mike learned moving from research and entrepreneurship into tech transfer, why repurposed drugs require a different commercialization approach, and how the new SIG is bringing people together to share experience and practical resources. We also discuss the growing interest in drug repurposing, what the SIG has learned from its members so far, and how greater participation from industry could help move more of these opportunities forward.

In This Episode:
[02:11] Michael Coyle shares how Parkinson’s disease research, NSF I-Corps, and the launch of a startup ultimately led him to a career in technology transfer.
[05:12] Mike explains how I-Corps helped him understand the market, regulatory landscape, investor needs, and other commercialization considerations that researchers may not encounter in the lab.
[08:10] Mike discusses the broad range of technologies he worked with at Binghamton University and why he developed a particular interest in small molecules and drug development.
[11:28] Managing roughly 200 disclosures across 45 therapeutic programs may sound overwhelming, but Mike explains how Vanderbilt’s team structure and pipeline approach make that portfolio manageable.
[14:20] Rather than marketing individual technologies, Mike often presents companies with an entire pipeline of related assets that can include multiple compounds, disclosures, and patents.
[17:54] Mike describes how an AUTM mentorship experience and an unexpectedly strong response on the AUTM Discussion Board led to the creation of the Drug Repurposing and Reformulation SIG.
[20:35] Mike defines drug repurposing and reformulation and explains why these projects present distinct regulatory, intellectual property, and commercialization considerations.
[23:36] Growing federal, nonprofit, university, and investor interest is creating new momentum around drug repurposing, but understanding which opportunities have real commercial potential remains essential.
[26:25] An early SIG survey revealed members with experience levels across the entire spectrum, reinforcing the need for both foundational education and more advanced discussions.
[29:18] Mike explains how the SIG’s webinars, case studies, and other educational resources can help licensing professionals and researchers evaluate different repurposing strategies.
[31:40] In addition to educational resources, SIG meetings give members an opportunity to discuss current projects and connect with others facing similar regulatory or commercialization challenges.
[34:19] Looking ahead, Mike would like to see greater industry participation, stronger connections between members working on similar projects, and more opportunities for advocacy around drug repurposing.
[35:32] Mike shares how AUTM members can join the Drug Repurposing and Reformulation SIG and become part of the growing community working to move these opportunities forward.

Resources: 
AUTM
Michael Coyle - Vanderbilt University
Michael Coyle - LinkedIn
Michael Coyle - AUTM

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 capsule, which means immunity against one strain may offer little protection against another. In this episode, we look at the science that changed how these vaccines are tested and the technology transfer strategy that helped those advances reach developers around the world.
At the center of that story is Moon Nahm, M.D., an emeritus professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and one of the world’s leading authorities on pneumococcal vaccines. Born in Seoul shortly before the Korean War, Moon came to the United States as a teenager and went on to earn degrees in physics and medicine from Washington University in St. Louis. During more than two decades at UAB, he and his team characterized approximately 20 pneumococcal serotypes and developed the Multiplexed Opsonophagocytic Killing Assay, better known as MOPA. The assay is now a global standard for evaluating whether vaccine-generated antibodies can actually protect against disease.
Joining him is Diptiman Chanda, Ph.D., a Senior Licensing Associate at UAB’s Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Diptiman brings more than 20 years of research experience spanning reproductive endocrinology, cancer therapies, and fibrotic lung disease. Since joining the Harbert Institute in 2021, he has helped manage the international licensing of Moon’s technologies, supporting a non-exclusive approach that has made MOPA strains and related tools available to pharmaceutical companies, research organizations, and vaccine developers in low- and middle-income countries.
We talk about the scientific breakthroughs behind more effective pneumococcal vaccines, why research tools can be just as valuable as patented inventions, and how more than 80 licenses helped turn one laboratory’s work into a worldwide public health resource. Moon also shares the story behind SunFire Biotechnologies, the company he founded to provide clinical-stage vaccine testing services, while Diptiman explains what this portfolio can teach other technology transfer offices about access, long-term thinking, and strong relationships with inventors.

In This Episode:
[04:35] Moon and Diptiman join the conversation, and Moon explains why the many protective “sugar coats” surrounding pneumococcal bacteria make vaccination so challenging.
[07:15] The discovery of serotypes 6C and 6D revealed important gaps in vaccine coverage and changed how researchers approached vaccine design.
[08:20] Conjugate vaccines connect the bacterial sugar coat to a protein, producing a stronger immune response in young children.
[10:05] MOPA measures whether vaccine-generated antibodies can functionally destroy bacteria rather than simply counting how many antibodies are present.
[12:40] Early skepticism gave way to worldwide adoption as researchers traveled to UAB to learn the assay, which eventually became a global standard.
[14:30] A more accurate third-generation ELISA earned World Health Organization acceptance and helped establish UAB as a WHO reference laboratory.
[16:15] Seeing vaccines developed with his assays gives Moon a personal sense of satisfaction, especially knowing that millions of people may benefit.
[18:20] Diptiman describes how Moon’s scientific reputation and persistence became the foundation of UAB’s commercialization strategy.
[19:35] Non-exclusive licensing allowed multiple companies to develop vaccines at the same time, expanding supply and improving access around the world.
[22:45] Managing a global licensing portfolio creates new opportunities when vaccine developers need strains that have not yet been characterized.
[24:15] A close working relationship keeps the science and licensing strategy aligned while allowing each person to focus on his area of expertise.
[26:20] Making MOPA strains freely available through the NIH’s BEI Resources has supported academic research and vaccine development in lower-resource settings.
[28:10] Training more than 100 researchers created an international support network that continued long after participants left the UAB laboratory.
[30:40] The portfolio demonstrates the value of thinking long term, recognizing the importance of research tools, and using non-exclusive licenses strategically.
[33:20] Research tools can retain significant value without traditional patent protection when their quality has been validated across laboratories over many years.
[34:15] Moon explains how his childhood dream of using a successful company to support research eventually led to the creation of SunFire Biotechnologies.
[35:45] SBIR funding gave the young company the equipment, staff, and financial foundation needed to accept larger vaccine-development projects.
[38:00] UAB’s technology transfer office helped Moon navigate unfamiliar business, university, and state requirements during the transition from inventor to entrepreneur.
[40:10] New university resources now connect faculty founders with experienced executives, fundraising guidance, laboratory space, and support for SBIR and STTR applications.
[41:20] Affordable pneumococcal vaccines are already being produced for only a few dollars per dose, fulfilling a goal Moon once hoped to achieve.
[43:10] Federal research funding and the Bayh-Dole Act helped turn discoveries from a university laboratory into licenses, jobs, companies, and widely available vaccines.
[45:15] Curiosity continues to drive Moon’s research into the molecule responsible for producing the pneumococcal capsule and its potential as an antibiotic target.
[46:10] Next-generation vaccines with broader strain coverage are creating continued demand for newly characterized strains and corresponding MOPA testing tools.
[47:05] Moon encourages researchers to choose a major problem and pursue it like a North Star, while Diptiman stresses trust, communication, and understanding an inventor’s mission.

Resources: 
AUTM
SunFire Biotechnologies
Moon Nahm - UAB Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine
Moon Nahm - LinkedIn
Diptiman Chanda - UAB Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Diptiman Chanda - LinkedIn