About the President
Mr. Thompson joined the UWM Foundation in 2006 to broaden the Foundation's role in support of research and innovation and to help launch the UWM Research Foundation.
Prior to joining the UWM Foundation, Mr. Thompson was Managing Director for TechStar, a Milwaukee-based organization that assists in launching high-tech companies where he helped launch companies in biomedical imaging, medical devices and therapeutics. He also led TechStar's efforts to identify regional biotech strengths and organized the Biomedical Technology Alliance, an alliance among Milwaukee institutions to foster research collaboration.
Mr. Thompson was previously part of the corporate new ventures group at Hughes Electronics where he worked with early stage companies in consumer electronics, broadband services and entertainment. His technology background includes managing software development projects and designing and launching communications satellites as a system engineer at Hughes Space and Communications.
Mr. Thompson previously served on the boards of start-up companies, MatriLab and NovaScan. He holds a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from UCLA.
About the Senior Licensing Manager
Mr. Minnick joined the UWM Research Foundation in December of 2007, bringing with him extensive experience in technology licensing and IP management, particularly in the biosciences. In his role as Senior Licensing Manager, Mr. Minnick is responsible for patenting and licensing of intellectual property as well as development of corporate partnerships.
In his most recent role at Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Mr. Minnick was involved in all phases of the business development process, leading the licensing of products and technologies, M&A, development, and commercialization agreements. While there, he received the Takeda “Circle Award” for outstanding performance and contributions.
Previously employed at other major pharmaceuticals, Mr. Minnick possesses extensive experience in establishing relationships and working with US, European, and Asian pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies and academic and government institutions. In addition, he played an important role in the establishment of biosciences start-ups and possesses significant and strategic transactional experience.
Mr. Minnick earned a Master of Business Administration in General Management and Marketing from the University of Phoenix. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology as well as a Minor in Chemistry from Utah State University.
About the Technology Licensing Associate &
Helen Bader Foundation Fellow
Dr. Silvaggi began her research career at the University of Connecticut where she graduated summa cum laude in 2000 with a B.S. from the department of Molecular and Cell Biology. At UCONN she conducted an honors program research project in collaboration with Arch Chemicals studying bacterial resistance to biocides. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry in 2005 from the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University in the laboratory of Dr. Richard Losick. During her thesis work she discovered previously unknown small, untranslated RNAs in the sporulating bacterium Bacillus subtilis.
After her doctoral work she conducted postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Bruce Spiegelman at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. She received the Ruth L. Kirchstein-National Research Service Award from the NIH to study the protein PGC-1 alpha and its role in protection against the damage caused by free radicals in the brain. A primary aim of this work was to investigate whether increasing the levels of PGC-1 alpha in the brains of mice could aid in protection against neurodegeneration, particularly in Parkinson's disease.