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March 17, 2005

WRF NAMES DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH COMMERCIALIZATION

Luciana Simoncini has joined Washington Research Foundation (WRF) as director of research commercialization. She will also manage WRF’s new annual fund to support potentially valuable commercial research at the University of Washington.
“Luciana will proactively seek out research projects with commercial potential, primarily those at the University of Washington,” said Ron Howell, president and chief executive officer of WRF. “She brings us a depth of experience as a scientist, researcher and venture capitalist that will help us identify a broader range of research efforts that merit financial support.”
WRF is an independent nonprofit organization that both supports research efforts and invests in early stage technology start-ups. It also licenses technology and manages licenses agreements for Washington state research institutions, primarily the University of Washington
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WRF created the new annual fund to support “gap funding” for potentially valuable commerce research as part of its $12 million commitment to the university’s capital campaign.
At the same time WRF has partnered with UW Tech Transfer (UWTT) in the creation of UWTT’s Technology Gap Innovation Fund (TGIF). The two funds will work independently, and in some cases together to deploy more funding to the most interesting projects. The university’s contribution to the TGIF will be $500,000. WRF will contribute $500,000, with half going to each of the two new funds.
 

“Luciana’s highly focused assignment will allow WRF to work closely with the university’s technology transfer team to gain better knowledge of the various kinds of research now under way, especially in biomedical and computer sciences,” Howell said. “Our goal is to increase the number of projects we see with a view to finding more start-up possibilities.” She will also work in concert with the UWTT group and potentially enhance the value of the technology it is licensing.
Simoncini was previously a partner with Integra Ventures, a life science group that provides capital to early stage companies, and a scientist and business development manager at ZymoGenetics, a Seattle-based biotechnology company. She has a doctorate in chemistry and pharmaceutical technologies and a master’s in business administration from Seattle University. She has also published several scientific papers.