Are you working on an innovation you think should be spun out into a startup? What resources are available to help? H ow can you become involved in the innovation ecosystem in St. Louis?

Join us for “OTM Office Hours”\, a program series from the Washington Unive rsity Office of Technology Management covering the latest topics in tech tr ansfer and innovation.

OTM Office Hours series is back on October 12th with “Career O ptions for a PhD”\, co-sponsored with The Graduate Center.

Pursuing a postdoc in acade mia or industry is not the only career option for students graduating with a PhD. Come join a discussion on alternative career opportunities in tech t ransfer\, law and the startup world\, among others. Our OTM panelists will share their unique career paths and discuss resources available to new grad uates post-PhD.

$Holly Kinser\, PhD$

Holly Kinser\, PhD

Patent S cientist

Holly Kinser\, PhD\, is a Patent Scientist at Washington University in St. Louis in the Office of Technology Management (OTM). Holly supports OTM’s patent a gents in preparing and prosecuting patent applications for a diverse portfo lio of WashU technologies. Holly previously served as an intern on the pate nt team at OTM while completing her PhD in Biomedical Engineering at WashU. After graduating\, Holly took a position as a patent engineer at a local l aw firm\, where she worked in intellectual property protection for large ch emical companies including BASF and Firmenich. Missing the diversity and positive societal impact of WashU innovations\, Holly returned to OTM in 2021 to serve in her current position.

$Liz Peek\, PhD$

Liz Peek\, PhD

New Ventures Senio r Associate

Liz Peek\, PhD\, is the New Ventures S enior Associate at Washington University in St. Louis in the Office of Tech nology Management (OTM). She is responsible for supporting WashU startups\, particularly in the medtech space. Before her current position\, Dr. Peek served as the Technical Marketing Manager for OTM. She was previously the P rogram Director of MedTech Innovator\, the largest accelerator of medtech s tartups in the world. She also served as the Technology Transfer Associate for Marketing at UCLA’s Technology Development Group. Dr. Peek received her PhD in Molecular Biology from UCLA in the lab of Arnold Chin and received a B.S. in Biology and a B.A. in Archaeology from the University of Virginia .

$Jennifer Richards\, PhD$

Jennifer Richards\, PhD

Business Development Associate

< p>Jennifer Richards\, PhD\, is a Business Development Associate at Washington University in St. L ouis in the Office of Technology Management (OTM). Jennifer manages a life science portfolio\, including technology review\, IP protection\, outreach \, and licensing agreements. Jennifer earned her PhD in Pharmacological an d Physiological Science from Saint Louis University (SLU)\, where she studi ed red blood cell physiology. She joined the office immediately after comp leting her scientific training. However\, Jennifer returned to her scienti fic roots to Lead Product Development at KaloCyte\, a Washington University spin-off developing ErythroMer\, a dried\, bio-inspired artificial red blo od cell. She then worked as a Venture Capital Fellow at BioGenerator befor e returning to OTM with an additional perspective on startups and Venture C apital engagement.