Expertise Team
Successful transfer and exploitation of knowledge requires expertise from a broad range of professionals. The VU & VUmc TTO team consists of professionals with backgrounds in science and technology, with additional knowledge of patenting, licensing and business development opportunities. The team uses its network to attract interest from industry, bring appropriate parties together, and in some cases start new companies. If necessary, we liaise with external specialists on legal, taxation, corporate or management questions.
Steven Tan MSc MBA RTTP has been appointed as director of TTO VU&VUmc, and acts director of Boelevaar Holding BV and Ooievaar Holding BV. Steven has an engineering and entrepreneurial background. He was partner at Holland Venture, a Dutch Venture Capital firm, where he was responsible for an international portfolio of early-stage technology investments. Prior to joining VU&VUmc Steven worked as business developer at TTO of Erasmus MC.
Areas of expertise: general management, licensing, technology transfer, business development and finance.
Prof.dr. Ada M. Kruisbeek is scientific director of TTO VU & VUmc and professor of technology transfer. She has more than 30 years of managerial experience in science and business, and is an expert in cancer and immunology. Ada Kruisbeek worked at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA, from 1978 until 1992. She then became Head of the Department of Immunology at the Nederlands Kanker Instituut-Antoni van Leeuwenhoekhuis (NKI-AVL) in Amsterdam from 1992 till 2001. She published close to 140 papers, many of which appeared in peer-reviewed top-journals, including Nature, Science and Immunity, and served on multiple advisory boards of national and international scientific agencies, research institutes and companies. In 2001, she moved to industry and became Senior Vice-President Research at Crucell BV. In 2004, Ada Kruisbeek moved to the VU and VUmc and founded Technology Transfer Office (TTO) VU & VUmc. She also worked with the Amsterdam Innovation Motor in founding the Amsterdam BioMedCluster in 2006 and the Life Sciences Center Amsterdam in 2007.
Areas of expertise: business development, cluster formation, technology transfer, general management and managing drug development in spin-off companies and partnering with industry.
Margot Rijerse is working as business controller at TTO VU & VUmc. She started her career at Sony Netherlands BV and later at Sony Europe BV in several management functions in the accounting, financial en internal audit area. She joined the Sony group for 19 years. In 2006 she moved to the public sector, first two years to the Orion foundation, which is an organization specialized in education for children with a handicap, followed by the VU. She started her VU career as controller at the Finance, Planning and Control department of the faculty Earth and Life Sciences. In this role she supported the Institute of Environmental Studies (IVM), department for Geo- and Bioarchaeology and the department for Neurosciences.
Areas of expertise: finance- and accounting management; planning & control; project management- and control.
Ir. Bart Klijsen RTTP is working as technology transfer manager at TTO VU & VUmc. He was co-founder and partner in the firm Legio BV and Joint Adventures BV. Both businesses focused on business development, development of new products/processes and protection by and exploitation of intellectual property. In 2003, he joined Licentec as a consultant to advise investors, businesses and knowledge institutions on the feasibility and applicability of new inventions and innovations. He studied Industrial Design Engineering at Delft University of Technology, and has worked in the TTO VU&VUmc since 2006.
Areas of expertise: product development, patent, license, technology transfer, IP management, valuation, Intellectual Property policy, management & transfer and new ventures.
Dr. Nigel Wagstaff is working as technology transfer manager at TTO VU & VUmc. Previously, he worked with Shell for 34 years in various R&D and technology transfer functions. His experience covers valuation, intellectual asset management and process licensing for the refining and petrochemical businesses. At Shell he was responsible for developing and marketing IP business propositions totaling millions of dollars. Nigel is a past board member and president of the Licensing Executives Society (LES) Benelux and has served as a delegate to LES International and chairman of the LES Chemical Industries Committee. He joined the TTO in 2006.
Areas of expertise: chemistry, non-medical science & technology, licensing and valuation.
Anton Ussi MSc is working as technology transfer manager at TTO VU & VUmc. He started his career in engineering and automotive design in the UK, studying at Brunel University and working for Ford Motor Co. In 1997 he moved to Germany, where he became operations director for a restaurant franchise, later taking ownership of an outlet. In 2005 he moved to Amsterdam where he studied a BSc and MSc in Business Administration at the VU. He has been a member of the team at TTO since November 2009.
Areas of expertise: both technical and non-technical project management; new ventures, marketing and communication strategy.
Tim Moser MSc MBA, is working as technology transfer manager at TTO VU & VUmc. He previously worked in infectious disease and immunology research, most recently at The Channing Laboratory in Boston, before broadening his expertise to include business and management by obtaining an MBA in 2002. From 2002 to 2008, he worked for the life science reagents company Novagen, most recently as site manager for a 75-person site. Tim has educational background in physiology, chemistry and biology, and significant experience in managing innovation-based businesses internationally.
Areas of expertise: life science, health care delivery, finance and valuation of technology, disruptive technology, collaborations, business development and general management.
Xiaofei Zhang MSc, is working as technology transfer manager at TTO VU & VUmc. She holds a master degree in Biology and Science Based Business from Leiden University. Before joining the TTO in 2012, she worked in different aspects within life sciences sector, from venture capital to equity brokerage. Her last position was Life Sciences Equity Analyst at Kempen & Co.
Renate Ridderhof LLM is working as legal counsel at TTO VU & VUmc and is responsible for all legal matters regarding technology transfer and valorisation. Before she joined TTO in 2007, she worked as legal counsel in the industry, with among others British Telecom, and as a fiscal lawyer at Loyens & Loeff. She studied Dutch Law at the University of Utrecht and Fiscal Law at the University of Amsterdam.
Areas of expertise: legal support at founding spin-off companies, intellectual property law including license agreements, corporate law and contract law.
Oskar Uzun LLM is working as legal counsel at TTO VU & VUmc with special focus on partnering and contracting for collaborations with industry, including those in the context of EU, TIPharma, CTMM and BMM programmes. He gained experience in legal positions in research and development, venture capital companies, universities, and biotech companies. Oskar Uzun graduated from the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in International Company Law and has substantial knowledge in (international) contract law and company law.
Areas of expertise: contracting, large grant programmes involving public-private partnerships, licensing, biotechnology, sustainability and commodities.
Bodo Kenemans LLM is a legal counsel at TTO VU & VUmc. Bodo graduated from VU University Amsterdam, completing a Master's Degree in Information Technology and Law. In 2008 Bodo received a post degree diploma in IT Law at the Grotius Academy. After working for a law firm in Amsterdam, he joined TTO VU & VUmc in 2010. Aside from his experience in law consultancy and contracting, Bodo gained years of management and litigation experience in commercial businesses.
Areas of expertise: IT law, intellectual property, license agreements, contract drafting and negotiating and consortium agreements.
Erna Sattler
Legal Assistant
Erna Sattler supports the legal counsels at TTO VU & VUmc. She studies Law at the Open University of The Netherlands.
Aniek Büller
Office Manager
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Ester Hulleman
Office Manager
We are available for your questions and would be happy to put you in contact with the right person. Click on the link for contact information.
