June 23--W. Mark Crowell on May 26 became the University of Virginia's first executive director and associate vice president for innovation partnerships and commercialization.
In his newly created post, Crowell is responsible for boosting UVa's corporate, private and government partnerships, as well as ramping up the university community's licensing, entrepreneurship and commercialization of research.
The Daily Progress recently asked Crowell to give his take on the state of the local biotechnology industry and the challenges it faces. What follows is an edited transcript of his responses.
Q: How would you characterize the status of the biotechnology industry's development in the Charlottesville region?
A: I would characterize the biotechnology cluster in Charlottesville as strong, evolving and extremely promising. There have been notable success stories in this region in terms of company creation, growth, acquisition, strategic partnering, product development and market impact, setting a strong foundation for continued growth and impact of companies in this cluster.
To read the full, original article click on this link: UVa innovation chief sees region's future as 'extremely promising'
Author: Brian McNeill