Event

Friday, December 12, 2025, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM ET

Video Webinar

Event Summary

On December 12, 2025, from 11 AM-12 PM ET, the Bayh-Dole Coalition hosted a special webinar celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Bayh-Dole Act. This landmark legislation has enabled thousands of federally funded inventions to transform from early-stage research into life-saving products that deliver significant benefits to the American economy, job market, and everyday life.

The program began with an overview of Bayh-Dole’s origins, the challenges Congress aimed to solve, and the balance lawmakers crafted to ensure publicly funded discoveries could reach the market. Panelists shared key successes and examined the economic and societal benefits the law has had in their industries. We assessed the current policy landscape and threats facing the law — including a proposal for the government to seize half of the royalties on university inventions it helps fund and efforts to misuse march-in rights.

Thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate 45 years of Bayh-Dole, assess today’s challenges, and discuss how safeguarding Bayh-Dole remains essential to ensuring that publicly funded research continues to generate breakthroughs for the American people for generations to come.

Related Resources

• AUTM — 2024 Technology Transfer Infographic
• Bayh-Dole Coalition — One-Pager on Impacts of Proposed Patent Royalty Tax
• ITIF — The Bayh-Dole Act’s Vital Importance to the U.S. Life-Sciences Innovation System

Joseph P. Allen (Moderator)

Joe is the executive director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition. As a professional staffer on the Senate Judiciary Committee to Sen. Birch Bayh (D-IN), he played a key role in the successful passage of the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 and its subsequent amendments. He later served as the director of the Office of Technology Commercialization at the Department of Commerce, which oversaw the implementation of Bayh-Dole and chaired the Interagency Committee on Technology Transfer.

Stephen Susalka

Steve is the Chief Executive Officer of AUTM, a 3,000+ member non-profit association focused on supporting and enhancing technology transfer globally, and oversees a cooperative partnership with the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer to support technology transfer for more than 300 federal labs across the United States. He has frequently presented on Capitol Hill and internationally on topics ranging from startup formation to the evolution of the profession and has worked with senior leaders worldwide on strategies to enhance the commercialization of early-stage inventions. Steve earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Virginia and is a registered U.S. Patent Agent.

Jennifer Pagán

Dr. Jennifer Pagán is the Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder of AquiSense Technologies, the global leader in UV-C LED water disinfection systems. She earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she first developed her U.S. patented disinfection technologies with funding from the National Science Foundation. Licensed to the UNC Charlotte spinout Dot Metrics Technologies, her invention enabled the world’s first UV-C LED water disinfection system and ultimately the launch of AquiSense in 2015. Today, her technology is deployed worldwide and even aboard the International Space Station.

Vinit Nijhawan

Vinit is the Managing Director of MassVentures, the Commonwealth’s strategic venture capital organization. He previously headed Boston University’s Office of Technology development, where he launched multiple venture-backed spinouts and introduced his signature approach to technology transfer, “Maximize Collisions, Minimize Friction.” He is also the only non-UK member of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Committee, which advises the UK government on engineering and technology innovation. Over the course of nearly four decades, Vinit has served as a founder, CEO, investor, and strategic leader — investing in both the global innovation economy and the success of emerging entrepreneurs.

Nichole Mercier

Dr. Nichole Mercier is an Assistant Vice Chancellor for Washington University in St. Louis & the Managing Director of the Office of Technology Management. In this role, she sets the strategy for technology transfer at the University and oversees all operations relating to the licensing and protection of intellectual property assets. Dr. Mercier originally joined the Office of Technology Management in 2005 as a member of the licensing team. In addition to her licensing background, she developed and directed all educational outreach to the University community and instituted the Women in Innovation and Technology (WIT) Program. Prior to joining Washington University, she worked as a licensing associate for Boston Children’s Hospital’s Intellectual Property Office and received her PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Massachusetts Medical School.