Jeff Welch Named Director of New Ventures at Duke Office for Translation and Commercialization

By Aliza inbari

DURHAM, N.C., May 17, 2021 —Jeff Welch, PhD, a longtime life science and business development executive, joins today the Duke Office for Translation and Commercialization (OTC).

“We are excited to welcome Jeff Welch to the OTC team and back to Duke,” said Robin Rasor, Duke OTC Executive Director. “We were fortunate to have many qualified people interested in this position, but in the end, Jeff’s experience in business development and finance, combined with his energy and passion for Duke and its innovation are a perfect fit for Duke New Ventures.”

Welch comes to Duke from Bioventus LLC, where he served as Vice President of Business Development for five years and completed transactions that led to multiple new business units, products, and development programs for the company. Prior to that, he held positions of increasing seniority at Smith & Nephew, Nanosyn, and Square 1 Bank, where he has participated in the development, financing, licensing, acquisition, and commercialization of innovative new technologies in multiple life science and healthcare fields.

As Director of New Ventures at Duke OTC, Welch will lead a team of Mentors-in-Residents and New Ventures Fellows who work diligently with Duke inventors to commercialize their technologies and transfer them to the market through forming a start-up company or licensing the technology to an existing strategic company.

“I am thrilled to return to Duke and join OTC,” said Welch. “I am passionate about new technology development and maximizing the odds that new products will achieve their potential to improve human life through business success – and that is what Duke New Venture is all about.”

Welch received his PhD in Neurobiology from Duke University School of Medicine and his B.S. degree in Economics and Biology from Duke University.

To learn more about Duke’s OTC New Ventures, please visit: https://otc.duke.edu/startupwiki/