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OTM Team

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Bruce D. Butler, Ph.D.

Vice President, Research and Technology
Director, Office of Technology Management

Phone: 713-500-3369
Fax:     713-500-0331
Email: [email protected]

Dr. Bruce D. Butler is Vice President Research and Technology, and directs the Office of Technology Management at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The office handles the technology transfer activities including the creation of new start-ups for the six UTHealth schools and the UTHealth faculty at the Texas Heart Institute. Dr. Butler also holds an academic position as Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the Medical School and managed a research program in collaboration with NASA, U.S. Navy and several international pharmaceutical companies. He has over 200 published papers, abstracts and book chapters. Other positions he holds include VP for the Office of Global Health Initiatives, Associate Director of the UTHealth / MD Anderson Cancer Center-Center for Advanced Biomedical Imaging Research (CABIR). Dr. Butler is an inventor on numerous U.S. and associated foreign patents; several of which have been commercialized through UTHealth that include respiratory healthcare products and bio-pharmaceuticals. He has been involved with product development for medical and home-care devices, including FDA regulatory approvals and clinical trials. Dr. Butler has been personally involved in the creation of 5 life-science start-ups and numerous other business development partnerships.


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Christine F. Weaver, Ph.D.

Director, Licensing and New Venture Development

Phone: 713-500-3383
Fax:     713-500-0331
Email: [email protected]

Christine (Flynn) Weaver, Ph.D. joined OTM in 2007, where she is responsible for assessing, protecting, and commercializing the intellectual property generated by faculty, staff, and students at UTHealth, with a particular focus on startup companies.  Christine also helped establish and further coordinates the Biotechnology Commercialization Center (BCC) at UTHealth.  Prior to joining OTM, Christine received Bachelor of Science degrees in both Chemistry and French from The Pennsylvania State University in University Park, PA. She continued her education at The University of Texas at Austin, in Austin, TX, where she researched peptide-directed recognition and growth of semiconductor materials under the direction of Professor Angela Belcher, receiving her Doctorate of Philosophy in Chemistry. In conjunction with a postdoctoral research position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA, Christine joined Cambrios Technologies Corp. as the first employee of the new company, where she contributed to the commercialization and expansion of the basic science that she previously developed with Dr. Belcher, including as Principal Investigator on two Army grants and as a key player in the formation of Intellectual Property Strategy for the company.


Xiaoyan Wang, Ph.D.

Technology Commercialization Specialist

Phone: 713-500-3384 
Fax:     713-500-0331
Email: [email protected]

Xiaoyan Wang, Ph.D. joined OTM in 2021, where she is responsible for assessing, marketing, and licensing the intellectual property developed by faculty, staff, and students at UTHealth. Xiaoyan is a registered Patent Agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Before joining OTM, Xiaoyan received her B.S. degree in Chemistry from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. She went to Texas A&M University at college station to pursue her graduate study in Chemistry, where she initiated and developed a novel method to investigate the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome pathway of protein degradation, aiming at drug discovery. After receiving her Ph.D. degree in 2016, Xiaoyan joined the University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) as a postdoctoral fellow, focusing on the structural investigation of major DNA repair pathway-related protein complexes targeting anti-cancer drug discovery. While serving as a postdoc at MDACC, Xiaoyan became an intern for their Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC), where she assisted with the evaluation of patentability and commercialization potential for new inventions created at MDACC, as well as communication with potential licensees for MDACC properties.


Yu Ouyang, Ph.D.

Technology Commercialization Specialist

Phone: 713-500-3582
Fax:     713-500-0331
Email: [email protected]


Melissa Cole

Senior Administrative Coordinator

Phone: 713-500-3369
Fax:     713-500-0331
Email: [email protected]


Rebecca Ehntholt

Intellectual Property Data Coordinator

Phone: 713-500-3399
Fax:     713-500-0331
Email: Rebecca.Ehntholt@uth.tmc.edu