News

(Portland, Ore.) August 11, 2011 — Portland State University has selected Joe Janda to direct its Innovation & Industry Alliances (IIA) office, which operates PSU’s technology transfer efforts.

Janda’s position reports to PSU’s vice president for research and strategic partnerships, Jonathan Fink.

“This position is vital to Portland State University’s efforts to enhance and extend University research, building local and regional partnerships, and contributing to economic development in the Portland metro region,” said Fink.

As director, Janda will have responsibilities for all aspects of technology transfer at Portland State, including intellectual property protection, contracts and commercializing available technologies through licensing and business development. He will also manage the University Venture Development Fund.

Janda sees a large part of his job as serving as the primary liaison among faculty and administration, legal counsel, government, and industry. Such bridge-building starts with helping faculty researchers discover potential markets and tools for achieving maximum public benefit of their efforts, which may also serve to further research and economic development.

He will also support faculty collaboration with Oregon’s signature research initiatives: Oregon BEST (Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies), ONAMI (Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute), OTRADI (Oregon Translational Research and Drug Development Institute), and OTREC (Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium).

Janda previously served as an innovation associate in the same office at PSU, before leaving for a position as technology development manager at Oregon Health & Science University. He has also worked in various technology transfer capacities for George Mason University and Stony Brook (N.Y.) University.

Janda replaces Dana Bostrom, who left PSU to accept a position with the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, D.C., earlier this summer.

Externally funded research continues to grow at PSU, topping $58 million in FY2010, and $64 million for FY2011. That growth has extended to technology transfer activities. In FY2010 PSU’s IIA executed 24 intellectual property agreements and filed 12 patents, while receiving over $100,000 in licensing income.

Taking technology to market: Examples from PSU
APDM, Inc., is a start-up company founded by PSU electrical engineering professor James McNames and two PSU alumni, and located in the Portland State Business Accelerator. APDM launched its first product in 2010: The Opal, a wearable wireless inertial sensor about the size of a watch that continuously measures human movement. The Opal is designed for use in physical therapy, clinical research, athletic training, and monitoring movement disorders. http://apdm.com.

DesignMedix is another start-up company in the Portland State Business Accelerator, begun with technologies developed at PSU by chemistry professor David Peyton. DesignMedix develops drugs to address the large medical need caused by the rapid rise of drug resistance in multiple diseases. This approach has resulted in promising drug candidates for the cure and prevention of malaria as well as drug-resistant bacteria, such as MRSA. http://www.designmedix.com.

About Portland State University (PSU)
Located in Portland, Oregon, PSU has about 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students. PSU’s motto is “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” and it provides every student with opportunities to work with businesses, schools and organizations on real-world projects. Its downtown campus exhibits PSU’s commitment to sustainability through green buildings and business practice, while sustainability is incorporated into much of PSU’s curriculum.

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News Release: For Immediate Release (#11-095)

By:
David Santen, Office of University Communications
Portland State University
santend@pdx.edu | 503-725-8765

Source:
Jonathan Fink, Research and Strategic Partnerships
Portland State University