Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization

The Office of Technology Transfer and Commercialization provides guidance to Children’s Mercy staff on intellectual property and technology commercialization matters. It identifies, evaluates, protects, markets, negotiates licensing and collaborative agreements for Children’s Mercy innovations for commercial development for delivery to society. The office engages in educational activities to help Children’s Mercy innovators better understand the interplay between research and intellectual property. We encourage Children’s Mercy staff to contact us whenever it seems that their investigations are on a path toward an innovation for which further development and delivery to society requires intellectual property protection or collaborations with industry.

Connect with us at techtransfer@cmh.edu.

Meet the team

 

 

Aswini Betha, PhD, CLP
Senior Director, Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Aswini Betha is the Director of Commercialization at Children’s Mercy Hospital with over seventeen 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 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.  Aswini is an active member of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) and has been serving on the AUTM Central region planning committee.

Caronda Moore, PhD
Senior Commercialization Manager

Caronda Moore is a Senior Commercialization Manager at Children’s Mercy Hospital, bringing over 10 years of experience in technology transfer, licensing and industry partnerships. In her role, she focuses on advancing innovations in health care through strategic commercialization initiatives. Prior to joining Children’s Mercy, Caronda was a Licensing Associate at Kansas State University where she evaluated, marketed and licensed human health and life science technologies while also providing education to faculty and students on intellectual property. She has a rich background in research innovation commercialization, having also worked at UNeMed, the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s technology transfer office. Caronda also holds a PhD in Medical Science from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, underscoring her strong foundation in research and translational science.

Christopher Hanson, JD 
Senior Commercialization Manager

Christopher Hanson is a Senior Commercialization Manager at Children’s Mercy Hospital and has worked in academic technology transfer and intellectual property management for over ten years. In his role, he focuses on inventor outreach and the evaluation, protection, marketing, and commercialization of Children’s Mercy innovations. Prior to joining Children’s Mercy, Christopher managed the intellectual property portfolio at the University of Kansas Center for Technology Commercialization, where he directed patent prosecution and educated faculty on intellectual property matters. Christopher earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Juris Doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.