Fall 2025 Connect and Collaborate

Irene Blat
Servier

PPT Presentation
At Servier, Irene leads scouting and evaluation of novel therapeutics to advance the oncology pipeline and external innovation efforts to engage with academics and early-stage companies for potential collaborations. Prior to joining Servier, Irene worked at Veracyte, where she led the search for innovation opportunities for advancing the R&D technology roadmap in immuno-oncology and data sciences and previously spent six years at Genuity Science (formerly WuXi NextCODE). Irene started her career at the Broad Institute before completing her PhD in genetics at MIT followed by her post-doctoral studies at Massachusetts General Hospital and MIT.

Dr. Ruan Cox
AstraZeneca

PPT Presentation

Dr. Ruan Cox is a Director in the Strategic Academic Partnerships team within AstraZeneca’s Oncology External R&D Strategy organization. This team is responsible for facilitating AstraZeneca’s preclinical, translational, and broader strategic collaborations with academic and research institutions worldwide to support the company’s R&D strategy, with a particular focus on preparing and negotiating the agreements that underpin these partnerships. He is based in New York City, NY.

Ruan has over a decade of experience in technology transfer, academic collaborations, and strategic partnership management across the healthcare and life sciences sectors. He began his career at Moffitt Cancer Center, where he was responsible for driving partnership opportunities with industry in oncology and digital health, before moving to the University of South Florida to lead business development efforts for its intellectual property portfolio. Prior to joining AstraZeneca, he served as Associate Director of Strategic Partnerships and Business Operations at the Regeneron Genetics Center, supporting large-scale external collaborations.
Ruan holds a Ph.D. in Immunology from the University of South Florida, an MBA in Data Analytics from Saint Leo University, and a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from the University of Florida.

Steve Pedersen
LevelSet Capital

PPT Presentation  

Steve Pedersen is the CEO of LevelSet Capital where he oversees all aspects of the Company’s operations. Mr. Pedersen is a lawyer by training with a career that spans over 20 years in wide ranging legal experiences.

Most recently, Mr. Pedersen has worked alongside the Intellectual Property Finance Group at Fortress, managing teams of lawyers in licensing and litigation programs for companies backed by investments from Fortress-managed funds, across a variety of venues in the United States and abroad, including the popular district courts in Texas, Delaware and California, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the U.S. International Trade Commission, and multiple courts in the European Union.

Prior to this work, Mr. Pedersen was a partner at a nationally recognized law firm in Chicago that only represented patentees. Mr. Pedersen’s practice had a particular focus on the representation of universities in the licensing and enforcement of their patent rights. Earlier in his career, Mr. Pedersen served as a lawyer representing the public interest in trials at the U.S. International Trade Commission and, additionally, worked at a large firm, both in Washington D.C.

Mr. Pedersen’s broad experiences in litigation finance, contingency arrangements, licensing, litigation, trials, and administrative hearings, along with his prior representation of universities in patent matters, brings a unique set of skills and perspective to LevelSet Capital.

Stefan Schweizer
Thermo Fisher

PPT Presentation  

Stefan Schweizer, with a PhD in Chemistry from Georg-August University in Germany, worked for several years in biotech/pharma R&D on medical devices and cancer/infectious diseases drug development. Shifting gears, Stefan entered academic technology transfer, which launched him into a career at the intersection of business and science/technology. The exposure to out-licensing of life science technologies and supporting start-up companies for UTRF and USC provided the solid foundation for his current scope of work at Thermo Fisher on sourcing innovative technologies for future products, coordinating and driving due diligence and negotiating the respective financial terms and agreements.

Omar Zahr
TandemLaunch

PPT Presentation  

Omar Zahr began his career in venture capital after earning his PhD in Materials Chemistry from McGill University. His primary focus has been leveraging academic research for commercial applications, particularly in the consumer technology sector. As CTO of TandemLaunch, Omar oversees the development and strategic direction of new ventures, working closely with entrepreneurs, researchers, and industry experts to turn innovative ideas into viable businesses.

Since joining TandemLaunch in 2015, Omar has played a key role in the ideation and development of over 23 startups and has negotiated licensing agreements with over 27 universities worldwide. Omar’s technical expertise includes metamaterials and nanotechnology, and he is credited with several publications in these fields. In his current role, Omar shapes the technological roadmap of TandemLaunch’s investments, supports the professional development of its technical leaders and aligns startups with market demands and investor expectations. He is also active in IEEE Entrepreneurship and AUTM, working to enhance the link between university technology transfer and industry.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omarzahr/