Erik Lium, PhD, Named Vice President of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners

March 31, 2014 – Erik Lium, PhD, a 16-year veteran with an extensive background in the academic, technology and medical sectors, has been named Vice President and Executive Director of Mount Sinai Innovation Partners, which facilitates the real-world application and commercialization of Mount Sinai discoveries and the development of research partnerships with industry. Dr. Lium previously held the post of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation, Technology and Alliances at the University of California, San Francisco, where he led a team of scientists, attorneys, and business development professionals responsible for advancing UCSF’s research, instruction, and public service missions through the development of public-private research partnerships, management and licensing of technologies for commercialization, and entrepreneurship training and support.

During his nearly nine year tenure at UCSF, Dr. Lium was twice the recipient of grants from the National Science Foundation.

“Erik is a nationally recognized leader in innovation, public-private partnerships, technology transfer and commercialization, and we’re extremely proud to have an expert of his caliber join the team at Mount Sinai. I’m confident that under his leadership, MSIP’s role as a vital component of our institutional innovation agenda will expand,” said Scott L. Friedman, MD, Fishberg Professor of Medicine and Dean for Therapeutic Discovery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Prior to his service at UCSF, Dr. Lium served in senior roles in information services companies focused on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and engineering sectors.  In 2001, he co-founded LabVelocity, a software and information services company that provided life science research organizations with solutions to accelerate experimental design, as well as technology-based sales and marketing solutions for research tool vendors.  In 2013, Dr. Lium testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space and Technology, Subcommittee on Research on the importance of technology transfer at universities, research institutes and laboratories, and approaches to foster innovation and commercialization.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Mount Sinai, a world-renowned institution committed to innovation and the development of partnerships with leading organizations in the pharmaceutical, medical device and information technology sectors for the specific purpose of improving health care delivery and increasing access to quality care,” said Dr. Lium.  “Collaboration between academia and industry is critically important for the development and commercialization of new technologies and solutions that address unmet health care needs. The Mount Sinai Innovation Partners team excels at nurturing these types of relationships, and we look forward to increasingly collaborating with industry.”

Dr. Lium earned masters degrees in the arts and philosophy, and a PhD from the Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular and Biophysical Studies at Columbia University; Dr. Lium served as a post-doctoral research scientist at Columbia and at the G.W. Hooper Foundation at UCSF, and graduated cum laude from Gonzaga University with a B.S. in Biology.

About Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP)

As part of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, MSIP facilitates the transfer of discovery from the laboratory to the marketplace, seamlessly linking a not-for-profit institution with for-profit commercial entities. MSIP manages efforts required to bring new inventions and technologies to market, providing a means to a healthier future.  Our principal objective is to serve the community by transferring medical breakthroughs from Mount Sinai to the public while ensuring a consistent revenue stream to support the ongoing innovative efforts of Mount Sinai’s faculty and staff.  Visit https://ip.mountsinai.org/ for more information.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven member hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services—from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.

The System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care physicians, 12-minority-owned free-standing ambulatory surgery centers, over 45 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, as well as 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health funding and by U.S. News & World Report.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.