Licensing Associate Radhika Palkar was selected as a 2020 Howard Bremer Scholar by AUTM, a professional association that supports and advances technology transfer at universities, research centers, hospitals, businesses and government organizations. AUTM awards only five Bremer scholarships each year and many of the recipients have gone on to become leaders in technology transfer.

Radhika joined the Stevens Center on July 1, 2019. She earned a PhD in neuroscience from USC and served as a licensing intern at the Stevens Center in 2017 while completing her degree. Her previous experience includes serving as a postdoctoral researcher in the Silva Laboratory at the University of California, Los Angeles, and as a communications consultant for Fluid Synchrony, a medical device startup.

“I came to the U.S. thinking I wanted to be a professor in neuroscience,” Radhika said. “I’d been studying neuroscience since I was an undergrad, and I went directly to a PhD program because I wanted to pursue that job. During my PhD I realized that my real passion was to effect a change in health care by bringing discoveries to people. And so, I turned my attention to commercialization.”

In 2016 Radhika became involved with an organization called Biotech Connection Los Angeles (BCLA). At a BCLA event she heard Dr. Hemai Parthasarathy of Breakout Labs speak about her job and experience, and Radhika’s interest in technology transfer was piqued. She then completed the Harvard Business School’s Online Credential of Readiness (CORe) program to get a better understanding of business concepts, followed by her internship at USC Stevens.

“Radhika has been a great addition to our licensing team,” said Jennifer Dyer, executive director of the Stevens Center. “I look forward to seeing her develop her full potential in her career in technology transfer.”

Radhika will use the Bremer scholarship funds to attend the AUTM Annual Meeting in San Diego in March 2020 and other professional development opportunities.