Barbara M. Campbell
Associate Director of the Industry Liaison and Innovation Office, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia
Barbara M. Campbell is an Associate Director of the Industry Liaison and Innovation Office (ILI) at Dalhousie University in Halifax, NS. Prior to this position, she spent 7 years at the University Industry Liaison Office at University of British Columbia (UBC) where she managed a life science portfolio focused on infectious disease and championed UBC Global Access Principles. These university wide principles were developed to ensure that UBC technologies applicable to human health, the environment and sustainability are made accessible to the developing world. Barbara is an advisor of both UBC and Dalhousie chapters of the Universities Allied for Essential Medicine (UAEM) student group. Barbara has also served in various business development and clinical development roles for biotech companies in British Columbia. An alumnus of Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Barbara graduated with concurrent degrees in Biochemistry and French, received her Dipôlme de deuxieme degree from Université de Strasbourg and completed her M.Sc. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. Barbara is a member of the Licensing Executives Society and the Association of University Technology Managers and an active participant in ACCT Canada.
Profile
“I chose to work with TIP because you rarely see an organization that is able to go into a developing world context without imposing its own agenda.”
While many experts concentrate on theories of innovation, Barbara’s career is steeped in hands-on experience. She has done everything from helping a biotech start-up get off the ground to orchestrating major licensing deals between universities and industry. Barbara’s work also possess a personal dimension: she worked on research that resulted in medical products used by her own family members.
What is the biggest challenge facing innovation and IP at the moment?
“My focus is on health and I wish more people were aware of the gap between early stage or university-level innovation on the one hand and the marketplace on the other. The funding and research required to bridge that gap can be huge.”
What is one of the most influential books or articles you have read about innovation?
“I would say ‘The Crusade to Immunize the World’s Children’, which is a book I read shortly after my group received funding from the Gates Foundation. It’s eye-opening because when you’re on the ground you often don’t see the global perspective.”
Where do you see the future of innovation?
“I see an evolution of multi-disciplinary teams brought together to advance a common goal. This can be a cluster brought together around a powerful centre or leader. One example is a cardiac vaccination team where we had everyone from vascular surgeons to engineers to radiologists working on a specific goal.”
What is an important lesson from your research?
“Everyday, the technologies on which I work move towards becoming products on the market such as a heart drug. I personally see the benefits of the innovations I work on and that reinforces for me how important it is to ensure there is a path and funding between the university and the marketplace.”