Fast Talk: The University of Rochester Markets Medical Research

Marjorie Hunter
Director, Office of Technology Transfer
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, New York

Hunter, 53, markets academic research to companies and entrepreneurs; such collaborations brought the University of Rochester Medical Center nearly $70 million in royalties in fiscal 2008.

"I think of myself as a liaison or broker between academics and the business world. For many years, there was an ivory-tower approach to university research -- that it really should be research for research's sake, and that working too closely with industry might sully or compromise the work's integrity. But there is a growing desire among academics and research scientists to see their discoveries and inventions result in improvements to society -- something concrete that will really help people -- especially in the medical area. When our scientists make technological breakthroughs that become products, they actually share in the revenue that the university accumulates."