Assembling the Puzzle: Exploring the Convergence of AI and Biotech
Hosts & Speakers
Welcome Remarks
We hope you enjoy an interactive day of education and collaboration as we delve into the myriad of unique issues at the convergence of AI/ML and biotech!
Angi Kujak
Senior Director, Head of OSAP Legal Practice
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Seasoned patent attorney admitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and licensed to practice in Massachusetts, California, and Wisconsin. Currently serving as Head of OSAP Legal at the Broad Institute, managing a team of 12 attorneys. Responsibilities include overseeing the Institute's IP portfolio, and negotiating and managing strategic collaboration and license agreements, along with various research-enabling transactions.
Additionally, provide comprehensive legal support across a wide range of issues, including nonprofit, tax, and transactional and IP-related disputes. Dedicated to improving internal processes to reduce risk and enhance resource efficiency, with substantial experience and demonstrated success in these areas. Known for being a hard worker and team player, committed to driving positive outcomes and supporting the Broad Institute's mission
Harry Harden
Partner (London) & Senior VP (US Liaison Offices)
Kilburn & Strode
Daniel Rudoy, PhD
Shareholder
Wolf Greenfield
The In-House Perspective: Unpacking the Pieces of AI/ML Inventions
As AI-enabled biotech inventions become more prevalent, we need new, creative strategies to effectively protect, manage, and license these innovations to maximize impact on patients’ lives. We will provide an overview of the myriad of issues facing in-house counsel today and advice for staying ahead of the curve.
Jocelyn Ram
IP Counsel, OSAP Legal Practice
The Broad Institute, Inc.
As IP Counsel at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Jocelyn D. Ram manages a diverse portfolio of cutting-edge genomic technologies, focusing on the convergence of AI and biotech. Her unique USPTO insider knowledge gained during 12 years at the USPTO (as a speechwriter for Director Iancu and Deputy Director Peter, a patent analyst in Office of International Patent Cooperation, and a patent examiner) provides a unique perspective to IP strategy. Her biomedical engineering degree from Cornell University, communications & technology master’s from Georgetown University, and JD from Boston University, enable her to expertly communicate complex subject matter to diverse audiences.
Karen Sinclair
Director of Intellectual Property
Harvard Office of Technology Development
Karen oversees the development of Harvard’s patent portfolio. Working closely with other Directors in OTD, Karen advises on OTD-wide productivity as well as patent strategies to maximize the value of IP to facilitate commercialization efforts. She has the honor of directing a team of skilled attorneys and paralegals who secure Harvard’s patent rights and fulfill Harvard’s patent related obligations.
Randi Isaacs
Patent Counsel, Office of Technology Transfer
Emory University
Randi Isaacs is Patent Counsel with Emory Patent Group for Emory University’s Office of Technology Transfer. Randi focuses on patent preparation and prosecution, as well as intellectual property counseling, for medical device and software technologies, including AI and ML inventions. Before joining Emory, she spent six years working for Intellectual Property boutiques in the Washington DC metro area.
LinkedIn
Peter Saradjian
Senior Technology Licensing Associate / Patent Attorney
Currently, Peter works in the Technology Venture Office of BIDMC where he licenses IP assets from BIDMC’s research programs to for-profit companies for commercial development, drafts supportive agreements (MTAs, CDAs, SRAs, JIAs, etc.) between BIDMC principal investigators, external pharmaceutical and biotechnology company representatives, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs, as well as evaluates Invention Disclosure Forms and directs outside patent counsel on the drafting and prosecution of patents. Prior to becoming a Patent Attorney, Peter was a Drug Discovery Research Scientist 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, the cancer blockbuster drug that was used to eradicate the brain tumors of former President Jimmy Carter. His research has been published in articles he co-authored in scientific journals. He is also an Associate Editor for the NIH’s Assay Guidance Manual: a free resource for researchers in academic, industry, hospital, and government laboratories to learn best practices for early drug discovery experiments (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK53196/).
Creative Legal Strategies for Protecting AI/ML Biotech Inventions
Delve into exactly what can be protected in the AI/ML space with respect to biotech inventions. How much support is required in the US and abroad? What is your filing/prosecution strategy? Get insightful tips for proactive intellectual property strategies for improved success.
Jamie Atkins
Partner
Kilburn & Strode
Katie Tallman, PhD
Senior Patent Agent
FIG. 1 Patents
Katie’s educational background is rooted in the life sciences. Through her coursework and research, she gained experience with microbiology, chemical synthesis, assay development, fluorescence imaging, cancer biology, and pharmacodynamics.
An interest in technical writing and a lifelong love of learning led Katie to pursue a career in intellectual property law after completing her doctorate at Oregon Health & Science University in the department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Over the past decade, she has gained broad exposure to various software-related and mechanical technologies across diverse fields, including the automotive industry, e-commerce, computing platforms, medical imaging, and biotechnology.
As a senior patent agent at FIG. 1, Katie enjoys crafting thorough yet readable patent applications that layer effective prosecution strategies with the technical aspects of the invention.
Daniel Rudoy, PhD
Shareholder
Wolf Greenfield
Full Bio Here | LinkedIn
Melissa Hunter-Ensor
Shareholder, Co-Chair Global Patents and Innovation Strategies Group
Greenberg Traurig
Dr. Melissa Hunter-Ensor is Co-Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Patents and Innovation Strategies Group. Melissa focuses her practice on the intellectual property and commercial needs of clients in the life science industry, encompassing pharmaceutical, biotechnology, chemical agricultural, diagnostics and medical device companies. Melissa has experience representing clients throughout the business cycle, from start-ups and universities to global pharmaceutical companies, with patent portfolio management and strategic alliances, as well as litigation and pre-litigation strategy. She also assists venture capital firms and other investors in assessing the IP risks of target investments and conducts IP patent and licensing due diligence in connection with life science technology transactions.
Before becoming a lawyer, Melissa earned a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania and her thesis research resulted in a first author paper in Cell. She followed this accomplishment with a four-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology laboratory of Nobel laureate H. Robert Horvitz where she was a Jane Coffin Childs fellow.
Navigating the Intersection of Data, Open Source, and Publication
Explore the complex interplay between publishing AI/ML research, meeting model-sharing obligations, and preserving intellectual property rights in academic settings. Learn to navigate the tensions between open science mandates from journals and funders while maintaining institutional and commercial interests. Examine how training data choices fundamentally shape both model distribution strategies and future commercialization pathways.
Angi Kujak
Senior Director, Head of OSAP Legal Practice
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Seasoned patent attorney admitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and licensed to practice in Massachusetts, California, and Wisconsin. Currently serving as Head of OSAP Legal at the Broad Institute, managing a team of 12 attorneys. Responsibilities include overseeing the Institute's IP portfolio, and negotiating and managing strategic collaboration and license agreements, along with various research-enabling transactions.
Additionally, provide comprehensive legal support across a wide range of issues, including nonprofit, tax, and transactional and IP-related disputes. Dedicated to improving internal processes to reduce risk and enhance resource efficiency, with substantial experience and demonstrated success in these areas. Known for being a hard worker and team player, committed to driving positive outcomes and supporting the Broad Institute's mission
Lukasz Kowalik, PhD
Director, Business Development & Licensing
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Lukasz Kowalik, PhD bridges academic discovery and commercial innovation as Director of Business Development and licensing at the Broad Institute. A Rockefeller-trained neuroscientist, he has executed 40+ licensing deals, facilitated 20+ startup formations, and built the Merck KGaA's corporate innovation center. His expertise spans CNS therapeutics, oncology drug development, and academic-industry partnerships across the biotech ecosystem. Current interests include spatial omics platforms, AI-biology integration, and synthetic biology applications in drug discovery.
Innovative Licensing to Enable Impact
Learn how to structure AI/ML licensing deals to ensure maximum value capture, starting with a clear definition of the licensable assets—from data to models. We will provide essential guidance on the economic frameworks and both the required and desirable contractual terms that govern the successful commercialization of these cutting-edge technologies.
Jessica Ergman
Associate Director, OSAP Legal
The Broad Institute, Inc.
Jess Ergmann is an IP and transactional attorney currently serving as the Associate Director of OSAP Legal at Broad where she focuses on negotiating strategic collaboration and license agreements, developing innovative IP strategies, and managing legal operations. With 15 years of experience, Jess is deeply passionate about supporting the development and commercialization of life-saving medical technologies, a focus reflected in her history of developing business-focused IP strategies for both early-stage and large, global life sciences companies. She is also actively involved with AIPLA, where she serves as the Vice Chair of the IP Transactions Committee.
Moran Cabili, PhD
Associate Director of Business Development, Office of Technology Department
Harvard University
Moran Cabili is an Associate Director of Business Development at Harvard’s Office of Technology Development. She specializes in commercializing technologies and forging industry partnerships. Trained as a computational biologist, Moran brings nearly a decade of experience in product management. She previously led Data Strategy and Product Development at Foundation Medicine and played a key role in developing a biomedical research cloud platform at the Broad Institute, in collaboration with Verily. Moran holds a PhD in Systems Biology from Harvard and a MSc in Computer Science from Tel-Aviv University.
Edward Russavage
Shareholder
Wolf Greenfield
Juliana Leung, PhD
Senior Director, Business Development and Licensing Transactions
The Broad Institute, Inc.
Juliana Leung, PhD, is the Senior Director of Business Development and Licensing Transactions at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where she leads Broad’s business development and licensing team. She has more than 15 years of business development and transactional experience. Juliana provides expertise to build collaborations with industry as well as partnerships with pharma, biotech, and venture groups that are eager to translate technologies into products that can benefit patients, the research community, and improve human health.
Before joining the Broad in 2012, Juliana was Senior Business Strategy and Licensing Manager for Research Ventures and Licensing at Partners Healthcare, now referred to as Innovation at MassGeneral Brigham. She received her SB in Biology from MIT and her PhD in Cellular, Molecular and Biophysical Studies from Columbia University in New York.
Fireside Chat with Prolific Broad AI/ML Inventors
Hear directly from scientists about their unique inventions and how they are bridging the gap between biotech and the AI/ML space. From data visualization software, to machine learning for drug discovery, to computational genomic sequencing, we have it all!
Lukasz Kowalik, PhD
Director, Business Development & Licensing
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Lukasz Kowalik, PhD bridges academic discovery and commercial innovation as Director of Business Development and licensing at the Broad Institute. A Rockefeller-trained neuroscientist, he has executed 40+ licensing deals, facilitated 20+ startup formations, and built the Merck KGaA's corporate innovation center. His expertise spans CNS therapeutics, oncology drug development, and academic-industry partnerships across the biotech ecosystem. Current interests include spatial omics platforms, AI-biology integration, and synthetic biology applications in drug discovery.
James Collins
Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering & Science and Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT, Institute Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Institute of MIT and Harvard
Jim Collins is an institute member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He is also the Termeer Professor of Medical Engineering & Science and a professor of biological engineering at MIT, as well as a member of the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences & Technology faculty. He is also a core founding faculty member of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.
Collins is one of the founders of the field of synthetic biology, and his research group is currently focused on using synthetic biology to create next-generation diagnostics and therapeutics. Collins' patented technologies have been licensed by over 25 biotech, pharma, and medical devices companies, and he has co-founded a number of companies, including Synlogic, Senti Biosciences, Sherlock Biosciences, and Cellarity, as well as Phare Bio, a non-profit focused on AI-driven antibiotic discovery.
Collins has received numerous awards and honors, including a Rhodes Scholarship and a MacArthur "Genius" Award, and he is an elected member of all three national academies: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine.
Ben Deverman
Senior Director, Vector Engineering Research
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Ben Deverman, Ph.D., is the Senior Director of Vector Engineering at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he leads a lab focused on developing next-generation gene therapy vectors. His work has had profound implications for both basic neuroscience and the development of potential gene therapies for neurological disorders. He is best known for his work on AAV-PHP.B, a revolutionary capsid that enabled, for the first time, widespread, noninvasive gene delivery to the adult central nervous system. More recently, his team has demonstrated that AAVs with predictable tropisms can be developed by engineering binding to specific target receptors and has leveraged ML approaches to accelerate novel AAV discovery. Using these new methods, his group developed AAV capsids that can cross the blood-brain barrier by binding human Transferrin receptor. They are now collaborating broadly to help use these capsids to deliver next-generation gene therapies for neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders.
Victoria Popic
Director, Computational Research and Development
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Victoria Popic is the Director of Computational Research and Development at Broad Clinical Labs, where she leads a research group focused on the development of deep learning approaches for the characterization and interpretation of the genome and the mechanisms that drive disease. Dr. Popic earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Stanford University and holds B.S. degrees in Computer Science and Mathematics, as well as an M.Eng. in Computer Science, from MIT. Beyond academia, she has held positions in both technology and biotechnology sectors, including roles at Oracle, Illumina, and the AI hardware startup SambaNova Systems.