Event

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Event Summary

On Wednesday, September 13, 2023 the Bayh-Dole Coalition hosted a widely-attended briefing in the Hart Senate Office Building on its inaugural “Faces of American Innovation” report and how the technology transfer system established by the Bayh-Dole Act supports U.S. innovation. The briefing featured a panel discussion with the five innovators profiled in the report, who also received the Bayh-Dole Coalition American Innovator Award while in Washington:

• Katalin Karikó, a University of Pennsylvania biochemist who helped develop the mRNA technology behind the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, preventing nearly 20 million deaths.
• Dennis Liotta, an Emory University professor and chemist whose work on “emtricitabine” helped transform HIV from a death sentence into a manageable illness, saving tens of millions of lives.
• Carol Mimura, a UC Berkeley technology transfer official who helped commercialize the Nobel-winning research that led to the revolutionary cancer immunotherapy Yervoy.
• Yan Wang, a Worcester Polytechnic Institute engineering professor who developed a new lithium car battery recycling technique that could end our dependence on gas-powered cars.
• Peter Stern, an entrepreneur who leads a Columbia University spinout that aims to revolutionize LiDAR Technology.

Bayh-Dole Coalition Executive Director Joseph P. Allen moderated the briefing and began by inviting Kitty Bayh, spouse of the late Senator Birch Bayh, to provide remarks on Sen. Bayh’s legacy. Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, then spoke about the critical nature of the Bayh-Dole Act and made a commitment for USPTO to work closely with the Bayh-Dole Coalition going forward.

Following the briefing, Executive Director Joe Allen, Board Chair Brian O’Shaughnessy, and the award recipients met with White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Principal Deputy Director for Policy Kei Koizumi at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.