Advanced Licensing Course Instructor Bios 

 

Dirk Benedict is the Assistant Director for Technology Marketing at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center (LSU AgCenter). The LSU AgCenter primarily commercializes technology related to crops and natural resources such as sweet potato and rice varieties, food technology, agricultural engineering, and bio-based materials. 

Dirk is a Certificated Licensing Professional (CLP) and a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) with over ten years of experience in the technology transfer profession. During that time, he has worked jointly with three different LSU commercialization offices, including ones at the LSU Agricultural and Mechanical College, the LSU AgCenter, and the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. He also heads commercialization of formulations and recipes from the LSU AgCenter Food Incubator that helps develop and test new products for food businesses.  

Dirk has been an instructor for the AUTM Essentials Course for topics including innovation assessment, research, and marketing since 2017.  

Aswini Betha is the Director of Commercialization at Children’s Mercy Hospital with over sixteen years of experience in academic technology transfer, licensing, and industry partnerships.  Prior to joining Children’s Mercy, Aswini served as the Director of Licensing of University of Kansas (KU) Center for Technology Commercialization.  During his time at KU, Aswini led the licensing team and oversaw the management of technology evaluation, faculty education, intellectual property protection, marketing, and licensing innovations.  Aswini earned his PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Houston, holds a Master of Science degree in Human Genetics from Andhra University, India, and a Certificate of Business Administration from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and he is a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP). Aswini also previously worked as a Commercialization Analyst in the Office of Technology Management at the UIUC.  Aswini is an active member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and has been serving on the AUTM Central region planning committee. 

Wes Blakeslee is a lawyer, engineer and entrepreneur, and is Principal of Blakeslee, LLC (wesblakeslee.com), a consulting and legal organization, that provides legal and consulting services to universities, university startups, corporations, inventors and entrepreneurs in matters of technology transfer, operations, sponsored research, business formation, moving technology to market, and expert witness services in these and related areas.  Blakeslee, LLC also provides support to universities regarding policies, particularly intellectual property, conflicts of interest and commitment and sponsored research policies, as well as faculty dispute resolution services.  Wes also serves as a Director and/or General Counsel to several companies developing early stage university licensed technologies.  He is also the founder of the law firm Blakeslee & Wallace, P.C. 

Wes is a former NASA engineer.  He became a lawyer and after more than 20 years in private law practice Wes moved to the General Counsel's office at Johns Hopkins where he practiced intellectual property and complex business law. His expertise includes copyright fair use, complex sponsored research and collaboration agreements, intellectual property agreements, export controls, university policies, corporate formation, mergers and acquisitions. In 2006, Wes was appointed Executive Director of Johns Hopkins Technology Transfer, transforming the office into one of the strongest in the US.  He is the former Chair of the Industrial and Professional Advisory Council of the Penn State School of Engineering, and in 2013 was named Engineering Alumnus of the Year from the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, the highest honor bestowed by the Penn State Engineering School. 

Hannah Dvorak Carbone serves as the Director for Innovation, Patents & Licensing in the Office of Technology Transfer and Corporate Partnerships (OTTCP) at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). She supports the Chief Innovation and Corporate Partnerships Officer in strategic planning and oversight of OTTCP operations, including invention disclosure triage, patent prosecution, and licensing. 

After earning a BSc in biology at Queen’s University (Kingston), Hannah came to Caltech for graduate school, receiving a PhD in neurobiology. She then worked for several years as a management consultant in the Toronto office of McKinsey & Company before returning to Caltech where she started as a Licensing Associate in 2007. Hannah joined AUTM shortly thereafter and has been actively involved with the organization ever since, including speaking at multiple Western Region and Annual Meetings, leading the AUTM Western Region Meeting planning committee (2017-2018), helping develop the Model IIA, and serving on AUTM’s Board of Directors (2020-2022) and the Online PD Committee (since 2023). Hannah is a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) and a registered U.S. patent agent.  

Marie Kerbeshian serves as the Executive Director and Assistant Vice President of the University of Iowa Research Foundation, the organization that protects and commercializes technology emanating from innovations by University of Iowa researchers.  

Marie is a Certified Licensing Professional as well as a registered Patent Agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. She has over two decades of experience in university technology commercialization, and prior to joining UIRF Marie ran technology commercialization programs for the Indiana University system and the University of Virginia.  As director, she spends much of her time integrating the licensing, operations, and compliance components of her office. She is an active AUTM volunteer and is currently serving as chair of AUTM’s Essentials course committee.  

Marie has extensive experience in offering training to those new to the field of technology transfer, both in the U.S. and internationally, and she pays particular attention to offering tips and strategies for offices working with limited resources. 

Arundeep S. Pradhan, MS Pharm Ad., RTTP is an entrepreneur, technology transfer professional, teacher, and mentor.  

Arun’s work with universities, startups and small business includes development of funding, business development, and commercialization strategies. He continues to be engaged in technology transfer; was at the forefront of creating the biotech burst in Salt Lake City; helped develop the first biotech roadmap for Colorado; and, helped create the first biotech incubator and the first translational research development center in Portland, Oregon. At the University of Wyoming, he is spearheading the restructuring of the technology transfer office and engaging local and international companies in developing technologies based on the unique energy and mineral resources of Wyoming. 

Arun is currently the director of the Technology Transfer Office at the University of Wyoming and the president of Apio Innovation Transfer (APIOiX), a consultant with Eleutheria Pharmaceutics, LLC, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Most recently, he has also served as the executive vice president for business development for TMTRx, a startup developing treatments for drug overdose, and is also the CEO and the vice-president for business development of Practical Biotechnology, an oncology therapeutics startup. Prior to that, Arun led technology transfer offices at Oregon Health and Science University, Colorado State University Research Foundation (now STRATA), and the University of Utah.  

As a long-time member of AUTM (previously the Association of University Technology Managers), Arun has worked on numerous committees and courses. In 2009, Arun was selected as the AUTM President and served on the AUTM Board from 2005 to 2010. He was selected to lead the AUTM Foundation as its President and Board Chair from 2011 to 2013.  

Arun continues to work with many clients across the globe on technology development, licensing, and technology transfer related issues as well as mentoring technology transfer professionals, entrepreneurs, and startups. 

Brooks Tueting is a Partner at Patterson + Sheridan, LLP, a nationally recognized full-service intellectual property (IP) and technology law firm. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University in Biology with a minor in Chemistry before attending the University of Wyoming College of Law for his Juris Doctor. Licensed to practice law in the state of Texas and with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Tueting has been with the firm since 2011 where he has excelled in IP law and litigation. Acting as in-house counsel for several clients, he ensures their IP efforts align with their business goals, while also providing patent prep and prosecution services, litigation support, and portfolio analysis. 

Julie M. Watson is a patent attorney and member of the transactions practice group at Marshall Gerstein & Borun, LLP, a Chicago-based intellectual property law firm. A licensing professional with deep experience in structuring and negotiating deals to deliver strategic solutions, Julie concentrates her practice on intellectual property transactions with a particular emphasis in technology startups and university technology transfer. Julie’s prior work includes managing nonprofit intellectual property licensing programs including the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the American Medical Association. Julie received her law degree from Wake Forest University Law School and is admitted to practice law in Illinois, North Carolina and before the USPTO, and holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and is a Certified Licensing Professional. Julie is a long-time member of AUTM and LES and frequent speaker and educator on intellectual property and transaction issues.