David Paterson has been named Colorado State University’s new assistant vice president for research, translation and commercialization. The Office of the Vice President for Research announced his appointment effective Aug. 6.

“We are excited to add David Paterson to our senior leadership team. His experience in establishing global industry partnerships during his long tenure in industry will greatly facilitate translation and commercialization of high-impact CSU research,” said Alan Rudolph, vice president for research.

Paterson will work to expand industry sponsored research and relations. He will also review and improve CSU industry engagement procedures, as well as provide guidance to CSU research facilities and colleges in cultivating new industry-related partnerships.

Background in both academia and industry

Paterson graduated with a bachelor’s degree in botany from the University of Glasgow in Scotland, and received a Ph.D. in plant biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He continued his studies with a post-doctoral position at the University of Chicago.

Paterson joins CSU with experience in academia, technology transfer, research development, business and corporate development. He spent the last nine years working at Impax Laboratories in a number of business and corporate development responsibilities, including leadership positions in both Dublin and Amsterdam.

He also spent time as the director of U.S. academic liaison at GlaxoSmithKline, where he worked to create research alliances and collaborations, established technology licensing agreements, and fostered partnerships between GSK Centers of Research Excellence and North American universities, government institutions, nonprofits, and more.

Paterson has also been involved with several bioscience startup companies, including Neurogastrx Inc., Meditope Biosciences, and Lakeside Biotechnology Inc.