Research Insights
Eberhart Appointed Interim Director of GBBC
Derek Eberhart has been named interim director of UGA’s business incubator, the Georgia BioBusiness Center (GBBC), effective February 1, 2014.
Derek Eberhart has been named interim director of UGA’s business incubator, the Georgia BioBusiness Center (GBBC), effective February 1, 2014. Eberhart joined UGA in 2008 and currently serves as director of the Technology Commercialization Office (TCO). Previous GBBC director, Margaret Wagner Dahl, recently left UGA to become Associate Vice President, Health IT, at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Under the Office of the Vice President for Research, TCO and GBBC work closely together to facilitate technology-based economic development. TCO shepherds UGA discoveries from the lab to the marketplace through partnerships with industry. For some UGA technologies, formation of a startup company is an essential step in the commercialization process/
The GBBC works with startup companies to accelerate their growth through access to space, equipment and support services. GBBC programs encourage the commercialization of UGA discoveries by supporting companies that translate research into products and services. The GBBC partners with the Georgia Research Alliance, whose Ventures program provides seed funding and other support for promising ventures, with the goal of growing more startup companies from universities and strengthening Georgia’s economy.
UGA Vice President for Research David Lee said, “I look forward to working with Derek to leverage the combined strengths of TCO and the GBBC to enhance UGA’s impact on technology-based economic development.”
Eberhart received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia. He earned his doctorate in genetics and molecular biology at Emory University. As an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, his research focused on the generation and analysis of mouse cancer models. Prior to joining UGA, Eberhart served as director of Alliance and Portfolio Management at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals in Texas. He managed several of Lexicon’s drug discovery partnerships, including alliances with multiple pharmaceutical and biotech companies.