Derek Eberhart

Derek Eberhart, PhD serves as Associate Vice President for Research and Executive Director of Innovation Gateway at the University of Georgia (UGA). He led the strategic integration of UGA’s intellectual property licensing and startup support programs to streamline the path from university to market and foster technology-based economic development. UGA has ranked among the Top 5 U.S. universities for new products reaching the market for the past ten years. More than 1150 products and 250 companies are based on UGA research. Prior to joining UGA, Dr. Eberhart served as Director of Alliance and Portfolio Management at Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, where he helped manage Lexicon's drug discovery partnerships. Derek received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UGA, and his PhD in genetics and molecular biology at Emory University, before serving as an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He is active in the innovation community, including serving on the Georgia Bio Board of Directors and the Board of the Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance.