TLO Welcomes Deirdre Zammit as Associate Director and Jodie Richardson as Assistant Director

Deirdre Zammit, a technology licensing leader has been selected after an extensive national search as the next Associate Director of Physical Sciences, Software, and Copyright for MIT’s Technology Licensing Office (TLO).  

Formerly a Technology Licensing Officer at the TLO, Zammit helped champion the continued work between Lincoln Labs and the TLO over the last year while also managing an IP portfolio of nearly 900 cases. MIT’s Lincoln Labs is a federally funded research and development center chartered to apply advanced technology to problems of national security. 

In her new role at the TLO, Zammit will focus on managing a team of twelve, licensing officers and licensing associates, working closely with the Associate Director, Life Sciences Lauren C. Foster, all while continuing to develop deep partnerships with inventors, licensees, and VCs in the physical sciences realm. 

Jodie Richardson, a technology licensing professional is joining the TLO from University of Michigan where she spent five years guiding the office on process optimizations and Federal Government compliance. Before that, Richardson worked in the paralegal and venture capital industry.  

When asked about Zammit and Richardson, TLO Director Lesley Millar-Nicolson had this to say, “I am thrilled that Deidre has been promoted and will become part of the TLO’s Senior Management team along with recently hired Assistant Director, Operations Jodie Richardson who joined from U-M stellar Innovation Partnerships group. With these new appointments I know we will be able to continue to advance the outstanding work of the MIT TLO, and effectively achieve our goals in 2022 and beyond.” 

The TLO has a mission to move innovations and discoveries from the lab to the marketplace for the benefit of the public and to amplify MIT's global impact. We cultivate an inclusive environment of scientific and entrepreneurial excellence, and bridge connections from MIT's research community to industry and startups, by strategically evaluating, protecting, and licensing technology.  

Questions? Reach out to tlo-inquiries@mit.edu.