September 22, 2008 - The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation Names Dr. Richard Hull Senior Director of Innovation Advancement and Business Development, for the USC Health Sciences Campus

September 22, 2008

In a move that demonstrates the USC’s deep commitment to advancing breakthrough ideas in the life sciences, the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation appointed industry veteran Dr. Richard Hull to Senior Director of Innovation Advancement and Business Development for the USC Stevens Institute Health Sciences Campus office.

In this role, Dr. Hull will promote innovation and start-up creation by supporting advancement of faculty, staff, and student ideas from HSC as part of a university’s strategic priority of meeting societal needs. As such, he will strengthen USC’s licensing and technology transfer program in life sciences with emphasis on start-up creation.

Specifically, Hull will lead a team of business development professionals to effectively transfer USC research and ideas from the Health Sciences Campus to society; as well as advise and mentor select faculty and student innovators on commercialization options and the formation of new ventures.

Additionally, Joe Koepnick has been promoted to Senior Director of Innovation Advancement and Business Development for the University Park Campus. In their positions, Koepnick and Hull will work closely together to coordinate innovation processes and professional development of the USC Stevens Institute innovation advancement teams. Koepnick formerly served as Director of Licensing for the USC Stevens Institute.

“USC’s leadership in the medical and biological sciences will reshape our society in the coming decades, and with the USC Stevens Institute, the university is creating a model that will strengthen Southern California’s biotech industry,” said USC Provost C. L. Max Nikias. “Dr. Hull’s appointment creates additional opportunities for HSC faculty and researchers to get their life-enhancing and life-saving inventions out to the market.”

“For this role, we sought a strong leader with a solid track record of success in identifying and transferring to market promising early-stage life science technologies. Dr. Hull fits the bill with his expertise, passion and dedication to advancing breakthrough science to market,” said Krisztina “Z” Holly, Vice Provost for Innovation and Executive Director of the USC Stevens Institute.

“Throughout my career, I have sought out opportunities with organizations dedicated to cutting edge advancement in life science. Los Angeles is poised to become a major economic force in life science industry, and USC specifically is bursting with entrepreneurial talent and culture. I am excited to join the team at the USC Stevens Institute, and to help the researchers at USC move their ideas to market,” said Richard Hull, Senior Director of Innovation Advancement and Business Development for the USC Stevens Institute.

Hull comes to USC with eighteen years of experience in start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures from the perspectives of investor, owner, CEO and consultant. Most recently, Hull served as Chairman and CEO of the Metaphase Group, Inc, a boutique consultancy that assists early-stage biomedical companies formulate their strategies and access capital to execute them. For some clients, such as Neuralstem, Inc (a stem cell company commercializing technology developed at the NIH) and GenSpera, Inc. (a cancer treatment company based on research at Johns Hopkins), this has involved taking the company public subsequent to private investment rounds.

Prior to starting and running his consultancy, Hull was Chairman and CEO of Spotlight Health, a healthcare communications company that delivers integrated marketing campaigns using celebrity stories, public relations, world wide web and other tactics to educate and change consumer and physician behavior. Hull is also active in a number of non-profit organizations; most notably as a Board member of 2OP (a charity that encourages patients to seek second opinions), and as a Trustee of Echo Horizon School (a private elementary school that mainstreams hearing-impaired children).  Hull has a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Oxford University, and a B.A. in Natural Sciences from Cambridge University.