Led By Tulane and LSU Health
These prominent universities continue working together – along with some of their friends – as they lend their unique Gulf Coast perspective to conversations that will both inform and enable success in the biotech ecosystem.
Our Hosts
James Zanewicz, JD, LLM, RTTP
James Zanewicz, RTTP is the Chief Business Officer at Tulane University, and his career has included being a corporate chemist at Rhone-Poulenc, founder of technology transfer offices at the University of Louisville and the HHMI Janelia Research Campus, business development at Tulane University, and even a stint in media and communications for the global daily TV Show EXTRA. He has chaired the Board of ATTP, the global knowledge transfer accreditation body, and served on the boards of AUTM, NACRO, and the AAIH. He earned his BS in Chemistry from Centre college, a JD from Tulane University and an LLM from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Patrick Reed, RTTP
Patrick E. Reed, RTTP, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation & Partnerships at LSU Health New Orleans, has spent the entirety of his career on the advancement of innovation. Formerly working solely in traditional academic technology transfer, he recognized the importance of “feeding the top of the funnel” and made industry partnering a strong focus of his efforts to promote university translational research. Patrick earned a Master of Science degree in biotechnology from the Kellogg Center for Biotechnology at Northwestern University and has worked in the technology transfer offices of an agricultural college, an engineering school powerhouse, and a health sciences university.
Jeanette R. Weiland, MA, MBA
Jeanette R. Weiland, MA, MBA is the Vice President of Bio, Innovation, & Special Projects at the New Orleans Business Alliance (NOLABA) where she leads the organization’s efforts at supporting the growth of the New Orleans bio industry. In this role, she reports to the CEO and is responsible for facilitating collaboration with local institutions and companies, attracting new bio businesses and investment to the city, assisting existing businesses and startups with retention and expansion efforts, and working with area partners to help ensure that the state’s legislative environment is friendly to all of these efforts. She sits on numerous boards including Louisiana BIO, and prior to her time with NOLABA, her career was spent in finance (banking and healthcare). She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in International Trade & Finance from LSU and a M.A. and M.B.A. from the University of New Orleans.
Sharon Courtney
Sharon Courtney is the Vice President for Government & Community Relations at Tulane University. Sharon has spent the entirety of her career working either in Government or in higher education/academic medical center advocacy. She spent seven years on Capitol Hill working for members of Congress from Mississippi and Pennsylvania. She has served on numerous boards including National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) Board of Directors, Association of American Universities Council on Federal Relations Steering Committee and ReNEW Schools where she served two terms as President of the Board. She currently sits on the Board of the Data Center and Market Umbrella. Ms. Courtney was in 2006 presented with the Young Leadership Council Role Model award for her work post Katrina in advocating for recovery funding for Tulane University. She is a graduate of the University of Mississippi where she majored in journalism.
Nicole Baute Honoree, RTTP
Nicole Baute Honorée is the vice chancellor for economic development and strategic initiatives at the LSU Health Sciences Center at New Orleans, where she leads a variety of strategic programs, plans and policies related to university administration, economic development, technology transfer, and advocacy. Nicole has been active in academic technology transfer for more than 25 years in public and private universities, launching both a comprehensive tech transfer office, a university-affiliated research park, and two university proof-of-concept funds. She has led numerous local, regional and state-wide economic development projects based on university research and commercialization, and was designated an RTTP in 2011. She served on the AUTM Board of Directors from 2015-2017, and has recently joined the BioDistrict of New Orleans Board of Directors. She holds a B.S. in natural sciences from Loyola University New Orleans and an M.S. in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Elaine Hamm, PhD
Elaine Hamm, PhD, is the CEO of Ascend BioVentures, a pharmaceutical accelerator that supports early-stage life science startups and evaluates their commercial potential. She is also on the executive team of Cadenza Bio, CLAIRIgene, and Otologic Pharmaceutics, and serves as the Executive in Residence for the Tulane University School of Medicine. With 13 years of leadership experience in commercializing pharmaceutical therapeutics and diagnostics, Elaine has expertise in technology transfer, market analysis, and commercialization of preclinical and clinical-stage products. In 2022, she completed a $100M+ deal with Boehringer Ingelheim. Elaine received her PhD in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma.
Podcast Description
When it comes to Biotech, everyone talks about the east and west coasts. Now, the BIO from the BAYOU podcast brings you unprecedented access to the unmined expertise of the Gulf Coast!
Brought to you from the resilient and dynamic city of New Orleans, every episode is a concise conversation with an expert in innovation, business, investment… or the lagniappe** of issues that fill the space in-between.
**Lagniappe means “a little something extra,” which everything arising from New Orleans has to offer…
