Clarissa Austin is currently the Business Development Associate for Technical Marketing at the Office of Technology Management (OTM) where she works to evaluate and market WashU technologies to industry partners. Clarissa holds a master’s in marketing from Clemson University and brings six years of technology transfer experience to WashU. Prior to joining WashU, Clarissa was the Assistant Director of Marketing, Branding, and Business Development at the Clemson University Research Foundation.

Courtney Jungers is a Licensing Associate at Washington University in St. Louis in the Office of Technology Management (OTM) where she helps to assess, protect, market, and license technologies that are created by WashU investigators. Prior to joining the team at OTM Courtney was a graduate student at WashU. She recently completed her PhD in Molecular Cell Biology in December 2024 and then started her career as a tech transfer trainee before transitioning to the role of a Licensing Associate.  

With a formal education in biomedical engineering, Allison works on behalf of the law firm of Polsinelli’s clients in the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in the medical device, biomaterials, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, nuclear medicine, environmental, and mechanical disciplines. She also focuses on non-infringement, invalidity, and freedom-to-operate (FTO) opinions, patentability analysis, and due diligence for intellectual property transactions.

Prior to joining Polsinelli as an associate, Allison worked as a scientist with the firm. Before law school, she was a licensing associate at Washington University’s Office of Technology Management where she managed university technologies and negotiated licenses in the areas of engineering, surgery, imaging, biology, radiology, and radiation oncology.

Allison also volunteers for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Patent Pro Bono Program.

Mike McCay, PhD, is the Director of Patent Management at Washington University’s Office of Technology Management (OTM) and is a USPTO-licensed patent agent.  OTM’s Patent Management group prepares and prosecutes patent applications directed to a variety of technologies developed by Washington University creators.  Mike has worked as a patent practitioner for over fifteen years at the intellectual property practices of two St. Louis law firms as well as at OTM.  Previously, Mike worked as a biosimulation engineer at Entelos, a biotech start-up in the San Francisco Bay area, where he helped develop predictive computational models of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and exercise-induced fatigue used by pharmaceutical industry clients for the identification of potential drug targets as well as the design of clinical trials. In addition, Mike worked as an aeronautical engineer at McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Company (now Boeing), where he developed computer simulations of the flight dynamics of various fighter aircraft and assessed aircraft stability and control characteristics based on wind tunnel testing of scaled models, manned flight simulator evaluations, and flight testing of prototype fighter aircraft.

Deepika Poranki is currently serving as the Business Development Director at the Washington University (WashU) Office of Technology Management (OTM). In this role, she oversees a life sciences portfolio, assists in reviewing and evaluating technologies, and manages intellectual property protection and technology commercialization efforts. Deepika also leads the Business Development Trainee Program at OTM and supervises a team of licensing associates within the office. Additionally, she coordinates outreach initiatives for the WashU medical school and the WashU Danforth campuses.

Deepika holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Wake Forest University and brings about 15 years of experience in the technology transfer field.

Catherine VanEngelen, PhD, is a Patent Agent in the Patent Management group at Washington University’s Office of Technology Management (OTM). Catherine has ten years of experience as a USPTO-licensed patent agent, and prior to joining OTM was part of the intellectual property practice at Armstrong Teasdale in St. Louis. She earned her BS in Chemistry from Xavier University, MS in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University, and PhD in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Montana State University. Her research has included alkaline hydrolysis of explosives as well as characterization of extremophilic bacteria from Yellowstone alkaline hot springs in conjunction with the Thermal Biology Institute and the Center for Biofilm Engineering. As part of OTM’s Patent Management group, Catherine prepares and prosecutes patent applications directed to a variety of technologies developed by Washington University creators.