About Us
CoMotion Team
Our Talented Team
Forest Bohrer
TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, ENGINEERING
Forest Bohrer joined CoMotion in May of 2014, focusing on innovations in chemistry, materials, and engineering. His portfolio includes technologies in the fields of sensors, functional coatings, clean energy, and organic electronics. He received his PhD in inorganic chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, studying organic semiconductors for chemical sensing and organic field effect transistor (OFET) development. As a senior scientist in advanced development for aerospace, defense, and marine markets at TE Connectivity, he developed nanocarbon conductors, chemical sensors for hydrazines and aerospace fuels, and selective metallization processes for electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding, sensing, and conformal antennas. He earned a BS in chemistry from the University of California, Davis.
Gaia Borgias Brown
PROGRAM MANAGER, MOBILITY INNOVATION CENTER
Gaia Borgias Brown is joining CoMotion as Program Manager for the Mobility Innovation Center. Previously Ms. Brown held an external relations role in the College of Engineering where she promoted interdisciplinary faculty research in aerospace and space applications, as well as advanced manufacturing and robotics.
Her career has included professional roles in advertising, manufacturing, consulting and non-profit management. She has a personal interest the future of human mobility and currently volunteers as vice-chair of the Museum of Flight Future Leaders Team. She is also supports K-8 innovation learning through educational programs like Invent Washington.
Ms. Brown earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Design Management from the Art Institute of Portland in 2007 and is enrolled in a Leadership MBA program at the University of Washington. In 2013, she was named one of “20 under 40” by Inland Business Catalyst magazine.
Ryan Buckmaster
SENIOR TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, ENGINEERING
Ryan Buckmaster has been with CoMotion since 2010 and focuses on new technologies and innovations in the microelectronics, optics, materials and medical device areas. Prior to joining CoMotion, he worked in the semiconductor fabrication industry. He did his graduate work at Tohoku University on the development of novel nanostructure fabrication methods, and at the University of Washington on optical spectroscopy based real-time single cell analysis systems. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington and a M.S. in Materials Science from Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan.
Gail Dykstra
SENIOR TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, SOFTWARE
Gail Dykstra works with digital media, databases, and software materials created by UW researchers. She manages the intellectual property rights, creates appropriate dissemination strategies and business models, and develops business opportunities for commercialization of the assets. She earned a master’s degree in library and information science at the University of Washington and brings to her work experience in publishing, software and competitive intelligence, and product development in the information industry, software, and public-interest sectors. Prior to joining CoMotion in October 2003, she was a consultant in digital rights and product development, a research manager in information services at Microsoft Corporation, director of content and business development at Micromedia Limited (Canada’s largest database and business information publisher), and senior director of research and programs for the Canadian Law Information Council.
Roï Eisenkot
TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, BIOENGINEERING
Roï Eisenkot joined CoMotion in 2014, where he manages a portfolio of diagnostic and therapeutic bioengineering technologies. Before, he spent six years at T3, the technology transfer arm of Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, where he led business development in the Physical Sciences, and initiated and structured deals as lead deal-maker for Technion with partners at various levels. Before that, he worked as Application Engineer for Dune Medical Devices. He managed Dune’s clinical site at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Annapolis, Maryland, and co-modeled Dune’s reimbursement plan for the US market. He holds an MBA with emphasis on strategy and entrepreneurship and a degree in biomedical engineering (summa cum laude) from Technion.
Jeanette Ennis
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION INVESTMENT
Jeanette Ennis supports UW researchers pursuing grant money to commercialize their innovations, and helps CoMotion secure economic development grant opportunities. Ennis joined CoMotion in 2009 after more than 15 years of broad research experience as a scientist, entrepreneur, and manager. Her areas of expertise include pharmacology, biochemistry, molecular biology, tissue engineering, and medical devices. She has worked with a variety of start-up companies as project manager, grant writer, and intellectual property manager, and held senior research positions at Cornell University and the UW Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. She earned a doctorate in medical and molecular pharmacology from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she trained with Louis Ignarro, Nobel Laureate in Physiology. She also holds a certificate in technical writing and editing from the UW Department of Human Centered Design & Engineering.
Dennis Hanson
SENIOR TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, LIFE SCIENCES
Dennis Hanson started in academic technology transfer in mid-2007 at the University of Washington, and enjoyed a two-year stint at Oregon Health & Science University’s tech transfer office from 2012-2014. Prior to a career in tech transfer, he was a scientist in both academia and the biotech industry, performing research in a wide range of fields, from immunology to cell biology, intracellular signal transduction to extracellular matrix protein biochemistry. He has a BS from the University of Washington in Molecular and Cellular Biology, and a PhD from Stanford University in Immunology.
Vikram Jandhyala
Vice President for Innovation Strategy
Vikram Jandhyala is Vice President for Innovation Strategy at the University of Washington. He is Executive Director of CoMotion, UW’s collaborative innovation hub, and the UW co-CEO of the Global Innovation Exchange (GIX). He is a Professor and former Chair in the Department of Electrical Engineering, and an Adjunct Professor in the Information School.
Vikram Jandhyala received the BTech in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 1989, and the MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995 and 1998, respectively.
After spending two years in the design automation industry at Ansoft Corporation (acquired by Ansys), he joined UW EE in 2000. His research, which has led to more than 200 papers and several PhD students at top R&D positions has been funded by DARPA, semiconductor industries, national labs, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and National Science Foundation, including an NSF CAREER award, and has received awards from UIUC, IEEE, UW, and NASA.
He founded, along with his students in 2006, Nimbic, a venture-backed simulation company which was acquired by Mentor Graphics in 2014. He was founding UW director of the UW-PNNL northwest institute for advanced computing (NIAC) from 2012 to 2014. He was chair of the UW EE department from 2011 to 2014, led the UW EE professional master’s program as faculty director through early growth in 2009 and 2010, and was an inaugural UW presidential entrepreneurial faculty fellow in 2011.
His current interests are in the science and art of innovation, entrepreneurial and design thinking, educational innovation, social and organizational networks, and computational and data science.
Lara Littlefield
Associate Vice President for Innovation Strategy
Lara Littlefield
Associate Vice President for Innovation Strategy
Lara Littlefield is Associate Vice President for Innovation Strategy at CoMotion and the Global Innovation Exchange, and also leads business development for both organizations. With over 20 years of experience in resource development, she also oversees CoMotion’s operations, Labs, and innovation investment programs. Prior to CoMotion and GIX, Ms. Littlefield was the Senior Director of Advancement at the University of Washington where she was responsible for the ongoing strategic design, oversight and implementation of the UW’s California advancement program. Prior to this, she was a Principal at Collins Group, where she consulted with over 50 nonprofit organizations across the arts, education, environment, health and human social service sectors. She is President for the Association of Fundraising Professionals Washington Chapter and holds an M.P.A. and Certificate in Fundraising Management from the University of Washington and a B.A. from Evergreen State College.
Anna Marek
Intellectual Property Paralegal
Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, I earned my B.A. in History with an American Studies Concentration from Kalamazoo College and spent a semester studying abroad at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. While at Kalamazoo College, I researched and wrote the nomination for a college owned farmhouse to be added to the National Register of Historic Places. After moving to Seattle, I obtained a Paralegal Certificate from Edmonds Community College. Most recently, I worked at AMPACC Law Group, PLLC, where I spent two and a half years as an Intellectual Property Legal Assistant and Docketing Specialist.
Jennifer McCullar
SENIOR TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, LIFE SCIENCES
Jennifer McCullar manages a diverse life sciences portfolio. She joined CoMotion in 2010 after completing a post-doctoral position at the University of Washington, where she worked on identifying cell signaling pathways integral to regeneration in the inner ear. She earned her doctorate in Molecular and Cellular Biology at Oregon State University and is currently a co-organizer for Science on Tap, a monthly public lecture series. She also holds a Masters in Animal Science.
Ken Myer
INTERIM EXECUTIVE AND ADVISOR
Ken Myer is an interim executive and advisor, providing both strategic and hands-on assistance to companies in transition. For more than 25 years, he has helped launch or turn around companies that ranged in size from startups to Fortune 100. His professional career includes executive positions at IBM, Active Voice, TeleSym, Washington Technology Industry Association, and he cofounded Interval Systems. He has served advisor roles at Yapta, Data I/O, HydraMaster, PetHub and AnswerDash. He has been recognized as one of Seattle’s most influential business leaders, and was twice recognized for leading a “best company to work for”. He holds an MBA and MA from the University of Washington and teaches Technology Commercialization and Leadership of High Performance Organizations at the UW Foster School of Business. He currently serves on the boards of AnswerDash, ESNA Technologies, and Forterra.
Lisa Norton
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY LICENSING
Lisa Norton manages a portfolio of medical devices and biomaterials technologies, with a primary focus on ultrasound and medical imaging. She works with UW innovators to define intellectual property rights, evaluate marketing and regulatory processes, create commercialization strategies, and license their technologies. Before joining CoMotion in May 2004, she was a Senior Applications Scientist at Combimatrix, a Washington biotech startup. After completing a BS in biomedical engineering at Cornell University, she worked at the University of Washington in the Department of Medical Genetics prior to pursuing graduate work. She earned a PhD in cell biology and biotechnology from the University of Virginia.
Donna O’Neill
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
With over 25 years in marketing and communications, Donna brings a wealth of knowledge in strategic communications, storytelling, media relations and marketing. Most recently, she was Vice President at Waggener Edstrom Communications where she worked most closely with Microsoft leading the Microsoft Commercial Analyst Relations team. In additi on, she led the communications team representing Caradigm, a joint venture between Microsoft and GE Healthcare, and prior to that led the Microsoft Health Solutions Group communications team, which included Microsoft’s enterprise health intelligence platform. She has plied her trade across several industries including high tech, healthcare and financial services. In her free time, Donna enjoys playing tennis, outdoor activities, and spending time with her family.
Catherine Opie
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR INNOVATION STRATEGY
Catherine Opie
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO THE VICE PRESIDENT FOR INNOVATION STRATEGY
Elizabeth Scallon
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, COMOTION LABS
Elizabeth Scallon is the Associate Director of CoMotion Labs, a multi-industry labs system hosting startups inside and outside the UW community with three locations currently (CoMotion HQ, Fluke Hall, and Startup Hall). Prior to joining CoMotion in 2013, she was the Senior Operations Manager for VLST Corporation, a biotech firm in Seattle researching novel approaches to autoimmune diseases. Prior to VLST, she was the Lab Manager and Research Associate at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She received her Global Executive MBA from Georgetown University and ESADE, Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Seattle University.
Scott Smith
COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK MANAGER
Scott Smith manages all aspects of trademark and copyright prosecution and maintenance. He works closely with UW researchers, the director of technology licensing, technology managers, and the agreements group to ensure proper protection for the UW’s intellectual property. Prior to joining CoMotion, he was an intellectual property attorney at various boutique intellectual property law firms, focusing on intellectual property prosecution and management. He earned a B.S. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from UCLA, an M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of Glasgow, and a J.D. from Loyola of Los Angeles Law School.
Krystyna Szul
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Krystyna Szul guides and coordinates development and protection of intellectual property. She works with students, faculty, and staff as well as with outside entities, including start-up companies, legal counsel, and venture capital firms. Krystyna comes to CoMotion from Physio-Control, now part of Stryker, where she developed and maintained global patent and trademark portfolios in several technology areas, supported inventors in cross-functional teams, and managed a broad range of business aspects of intellectual property. She earned B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Washington, and completed a four-year Washington State Bar Association APR 6 Law Clerk program. Krystyna is a USPTO-registered patent agent since 2007.
Elaine Tobin
COMOTION COMMUNITY MANAGER
Elaine Tobin joined CoMotion in April 2011 as an Intellectual Property Program Coordinator. In June 2014, she became CoMotion’s HR Specialist and Office Manager and is currently the CoMotion Community Manager.
Andrea Valladao
TECHNOLOGY MANAGER, LIFE SCIENCES
Andrea Valladao joined CoMotion in March of 2016, focusing on innovations in the life sciences and managing the Biological Materials portfolio. While completing her graduate studies, Andrea served as a Technology Licensing fellow at CoMotion where she evaluated the patentability of academic technologies. Andrea received her PhD in Immunology from the University of Washington, where she studied the allergic airway responses to fungal pathogens. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a research associate at Roche Palo Alto and MedImmune studying the immune mechanisms governing the development of obstructive pulmonary disorders and protection to influenza. Andrea earned a BS in microbiology from the University of Texas at El Paso.
Fiona Wills
UW ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT
Fiona Wills has been with CoMotion since March 2003. Her responsibilities have included evaluating, patenting, and licensing technologies both to established biotechnology companies and to UW startups. Prior to joining CoMotion, she worked for the business development department of Molecular Probes, engaged in both in-licensing and out-licensing activities for the research reagent and diagnostic markets. She has also worked in the health technology assessment field, providing healthcare funding agencies with evaluations of new and emerging medical technologies.
