Unit Role
Principles, Standards, and Guidance
Education and Awareness
Administration and Management
Institutional Oversight
Noncompliance
Coordination Among Entities
Records and Reporting

Unit Role

OTM assists members of Washington University in St. Louis in the transfer of technology to private companies for the benefit of society while generating income to support research and education. OTM manages a wide variety of intellectual properties arising from research programs throughout the University.

The Office of Technology Management reports to the Provost.

Principles, Standards, and Guidance

  • OTM serves the interests of Washington University and its faculty.
  • OTM passes research innovations into the marketplace for the public good.
  • OTM generates growing sources of funds to support Washington University, its faculty, and the research enterprise.

Education and Awareness

  • The OTM trainee programs expose the individual to a broad range of technology transfer related activities in order for them to acquire skills and experience in the commercial development of research discoveries
  • OTM occasionally offers internship opportunities for students and post-doctoral trainees.
  • OTM internships enable participants to apply their educational experience in a particular subset of OTM’s technology transfer activities while gaining valuable insight and experience in the technology transfer process.
  • The Office of Technology Management partners with various entrepreneurial student groups at Washington University in St. Louis.

Administration and Management

  • OTM protects the intellectual property using the appropriate mechanism (e.g. filing a patent, registering a copyright, etc.).
  • Administers and oversees all financial issues related to technology management.
  • Manages and negotiates all material transfer and certain non-disclosure agreements.
  • Develops and maintains electronic systems and technology solutions related to technology management.

Institutional Oversight

  • Assures that agreements are created and administered in accordance with Federal regulations and University and sponsoring agency policies and procedures governing intellectual property rights.

Noncompliance

  • Supports and endorses cooperation with University compliance and monitoring efforts and reports instances of noncompliance to the appropriate compliance office.

Coordination Among Entities

  • Coordinates with the Conflict of Interest Review Committee (CIRC) to help ensure that potential financial conflicts of interest are disclosed and effectively managed, reduced, or eliminated in accordance with Federal regulations and University and sponsoring agency policies and procedures.
  • Coordinates with the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) Office to assure that all agreements involving animal research are in accordance with Federal regulations and University and sponsoring agency policies and procedures instituted to assure the humane care and use of animals in research projects.
  • Coordinates with the Research Office to monitor and impose restrictions on exports matters.
  • Coordinates with the Office of General Counsel on matters relating to the protection of Intellectual Property.
  • Consults and advises the Office of Sponsored Research Services (OSRS) for sponsored research agreements and foundation grants related to intellectual property matters.
  • Coordinates with the Accounting department within the Central Fiscal Unit in order to confirm that the accounting relating to license income is aligned with University policy and procedures.

Records and Reporting

  • Reports inventions timely and in accordance with Federal regulations and University and sponsoring agency policies and procedures.​​​​​​​​​​