Meet the Technology Ventures Office (TVO) Team
Our Technology Licensing Team
Our Executive Director works with our Alliance Specialist to support medical center-wide initiatives. Each BIDMC PI’s lab is supported by one of our Technology Licensing Officers working in tandem with a Technology Licensing Associate to manage BIDMC intellectual property, negotiate pre-clinical research and license agreements and catalyze alliances with industry.
Please see the TVO teams member’s profiles and departmental coverage below to connect directly with the appropriate team member, or use our general contact information below and you will be directed to the appropriate person.
Search Our TechnologiesDr. Lenich negotiate licensing, confidentiality, material transfer, collaboration and Sponsored Research Agreements and manage IP for the following departments and divisions:
- Med: Cardiology
- Med: Clinical Informatics
- Med: Clinical Nutrition
- Med: Experimental Medicine
- Med: General & Primary Care
- Med: Hemostasis & Thrombosis
- Med: Pulmonary & Critical Care
- Med: Nephrology
- Ob/Gyn
- Surgery
- Emergency Medicine
- Radiology
- Radiation Oncology
Dr. Mah and Ms. Levin negotiate licensing, confidentiality, material transfer, collaboration and Sponsored Research Agreements and manage IP for the following departments and divisions:
- Anesthesia, Critical Care & Pain
- Med: Allergy & Inflammation
- Med: Endocrinology, Bone/Minerals
- Med: Gastroenterology
- Med: Gerontology
- Med: Immunology
- Med: Infectious Diseases & Travel Clinic
- Med: Rheumatology
- Med: Translational Research
- Med: Virology & Vaccine Research
- Neurology
- Orthopedic Surgery
- Neonatology
Ms. Vaillancourt and Dr. Bhakta negotiate licensing, confidentiality, material transfer, collaboration and Sponsored Research Agreements and manage IP for the following departments and divisions:
- Cancer Center/Cancer Research Institute
- RNA Medicine
- Pathology
- Med: Genetics
- Med: Hematology/Oncology
- Med: Interdisciplinary Medicine & Biotechnology
- Med: Center for Vascular Biology Research
- Dermatology
- Nursing (Patient Care Services)
- Psychiatry
Team Profiles
Tod Woolf, PhDExecutive Director
Dr. Woolf provides overall leadership for TVO for activities. Cross medical center initiatives, including business development for SRAs, Licensing and Start-ups and agreements to provide access to therapeutic platforms.
Tod Woolf started as the Executive Director of the Technology Ventures Office in July of 2019. In this role, Dr. Woolf provides leadership for BIDMC’s intellectual property management and technology commercialization activities. In addition to supporting faculty in the development of novel technologies, he works with the TVO team to identify and pursue opportunities for pre-clinical strategic alliances. He most recently served as a Technology Licensing Officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Woolf brings to BIDMC more than 25 years of leadership experience at biotechnology companies. He founded Sequitur in 1996, which was acquired by Invitrogen (now Thermo Fisher). He co-founded and took RXi Pharmaceuticals public in 2006. He served as CBO and CTO at X-Body BioSciences, which was acquired by Juno, and he co-founded ETAGEN Pharma in 2014. His teams developed mRNA Therapeutics™, STEALTH RNAi™, Self-Delivering RNAi™ and Therapeutic Editing™. Dr. Woolf earned a Bachelor of Science in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Michigan, and a Doctorate in Biology at Harvard University, working in Professor Doug Melton’s laboratory.
David McCarthy, PhDAssociate Director
Dr. McCarthy leads the TVO intellectual property licensing team’s translation of BIDMC’s ground-breaking commercial innovations from bench-to-bedside.
David McCarthy started as Associate Director of the Technology Ventures Office (TVO) in July of 2021 and is responsible for leading the TVO intellectual property licensing team’s translation of BIDMC’s ground-breaking innovations from bench-to-bedside for the benefit of the public good. In this role, Dr. McCarthy brings to BIDMC more than 25 years of scientific leadership ranging from start-ups to global corporations. Along with his senior management experience, David is an intellectual property licensing executive with both academic and corporate technology transfer experience. Dr. McCarthy has served as a technology advisor on M&A due diligence, IP and technology valuation projects. Dr. McCarthy earned a Doctorate in Chemistry at the University of Cincinnati, working in the laboratory of Distinguished Research Professor James E. Mark and as a Post Doctorate Fellow at Université Joseph Fourier, Grenoble, France researching Nuclear Magnetic Resonance characterization of macromolecular systems.
David JacksonSenior Business Development Associate
Dr. Jackson coordinates external business development for research alliances, SRAs, licensing, start-ups, and agreements to provide access to therapeutic platforms.
David Jackson joined the TVO team in August of 2023 as Senior Business Development Associate. Prior to joining the TVO, Dr. Jackson worked in a variety of roles in early-stage biotech. Most recently, he was an independent R&D Strategy Consultant for therapeutics companies and a seed-stage investor at Curie.Bio. He also was one of the first employees of Empress Therapeutics (Flagship Pioneering).
Dr. Jackson earned his undergraduate degree in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University and his Doctorate in chemistry from the University of California, Irvine. He conducted his postdoctoral studies in Jon Clardy’s laboratory at Harvard Medical School.
Cindy Wong, PhDSenior Alliance & Business Development Specialist
Dr. Wong assists PIs and the Executive Director with Business Development.
Cindy Wong joined the TVO in July 2017 as an Alliance Specialist. Prior to joining the TVO, Cindy worked as an effective Business Development Consultant for biotech startups in the Greater Boston area. Earlier, she began her career with Abcam Inc. and advanced through the ranks of the Company transitioning from Scientific Support to Business Development (US Management Team). In addition to her diverse industrial roles, Cindy performed research at the University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland as a postdoctoral fellow studying the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Cindy holds a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Geneva, Switzerland. At BIDMC-TVO, Cindy is responsible for managing the alliances with Pfizer CTI, Pfizer, and other organizations.
Catherine Lenich, PhDTechnology Licensing Officer
Catherine Lenich joined TVO in 1997. Prior to her transition to the office, Catherine was a Research Associate at the Institute for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease at BIDMC. Catherine held a Research Fellowship position at Tufts University School of Medicine and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Cardiovascular Research Institute of Boston University School of Medicine. Catherine holds a PhD in Biochemistry and Physiology from the Drexel University College of Medicine.
Stan Mah, PhDTechnology Licensing Officer
Stan Mah joined the TVO in 2001. Prior to TVO, Stan was a Patent Agent at the law firm of Choate, Hall and Stewart in Boston. In addition to his work in patent law, Stan performed research at MIT as a postdoctoral fellow in biochemistry and genetics. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the Johns Hopkins University. Stan is admitted to practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Elena Vaillancourt, MAppSciTechnology Licensing Officer
Elena Vaillancourt joined TVO in 2019. Prior to joining the office, Elena worked at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for 12 years where she held the position of Licensing Manager in the Belfer Office of Dana-Farber Innovations. Prior to her years at Dana-Farber, she was a Licensing Associate at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in their Technology Transfer Office. Elena began her career as a Licensing Associate at Partners HealthCare Innovation where she spent 7 years honing her technology transfer skills. Elena holds a Master's degree in Public Health from Deakin University in Australia and an undergraduate degree in Biology. She is also the Founder of White Lion Baking Company, an entrepreneurial venture she began in 2011 and subsequently sold in 2012. The business is still thriving in Massachusetts with headquarters on Cape Cod.
Jyoti Bhakta, PhDSenior Technology Licensing Associate
Jyoti Bhakta joined TVO as a Technology Licensing Associate in June 2019. Prior to joining TVO, she worked at the technology transfer office of National University of Singapore on research related contracts and industry liaison. Earlier, she worked as Legal/Patent Associate at two different Intellectual Property law firms and as a Patent Examiner. She earned her Ph.D. from National Institute of Immunology, India and her JD equivalent L.L.B. from the University of Delhi, India.
Peter Saradijian, JDTechnology Licensing Associate
Prior to joining the TVO in 2021, Peter was involved in drug discovery at several biotech start-ups and large pharmaceutical companies. He has worked on small molecules as well as large biologics, including the first U.S. FDA approved anti-PD-1 antibody therapy: Keytruda. His research has been published in articles he co-authored in scientific journals. He is an editor for the NIH’s Assay Guidance Manual and is a licensed patent attorney. He received his BS and MS in Biological Sciences / Biotechnology from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell and his JD from New England Law Boston.
So (Mary) LiSenior Financial Analyst
Mary’s responsibilities include revenue collection, royalty distribution, NIH/iEdison reporting, legal expenditures and reimbursements.
Mary Li joined TVO in March 2017. Prior to joining TVO, Mary was a Senior Investment Compliance Analyst at JPMorgan Chase. While at JPMorgan Chase, she had extensive client interactions and provided analyses on investment compliance, IRAs and dividend distributions. Mary graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics.
Derek Sanchez, MAIP Operations and Administrative Associate
Mr. Sanchez's responsibilities include patent annuity services, IP operations and maintaining departmental records.
Derek Sanchez joined TVO in January 2017. His responsibilities include: Patent annuity service notices; Scheduling meetings for Dr. Woolf; Reviewing and entering newly disclosed inventions (IP); Supply orders; Reviewing patent email inbox and updating database with new filings; Entering legal AP into database for reimbursement; General clerical duties; Organizing conference calls and meetings; Maintaining departmental files, records and databases. Derek has a Master's Degree in music.