Dr. Tara L. Kirby is the Director of the NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT), which supports the technology transfer efforts of NIH’s institutes and centers. Technology transfer is a critical component of NIH’s mission, fostering collaboration, information sharing, and partnering to realize the potential of NIH research and innovation for the benefit of public health.
Dr. Kirby has been a technology transfer professional at NIH for over twenty years, with particular expertise in license negotiation, and holds an FLC Professional Registered ORTA (PRO™) credential. In 2025, she was recognized by Intellectual Asset Management (IAM) as the #7 Market Maker of the Year for her contributions to NIH technology transfer. Her prior experience was in academic and government research, which focused on the structural biology and biophysics of membrane proteins. Dr. Kirby received a B.S. degree in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics from the University of Minnesota.
