Mark your calendar and join us!
Witness the impact that the Research Grants Program and the breakthroughs of researchers in fields like life science, technology, health, agriculture, aerospace, and much more!
Agriculture and Environmental Sciences
Biotechnology and Life Sciences
Clean Technology and Renewable Energy
Electronics, Engineering, and Math
Information/Communications
Technology and CybersecurityMedicine and Public Health
Other related sciences
Physical Sciences and Aerospace
What to expect?
Network with peers and professionals from these fields
Learn firsthand about the benefits of our grant programs
Get to meet our grantees
2022 Video Recap
Speakers
Eng. Lucy A Crespo
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Puerto Rico Science Technology Research Trust
Eng. Lucy A Crespo
Eng. Lucy A Crespo
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust
Lucy Crespo is the Chief Executive Officer of the Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust. The Trust mission is to advance the research and innovation ecosystem in Puerto Rico. She retired as General Manager of Hewlett-Packard Puerto Rico for the Enterprise Business in 2013. Her tenure at HP lasted for 31 year, successfully working in the HP Computing and Printing and Personal Systems business units. Lucy is an executive with ample experience in the technology industry and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus and completed Executive Development education at the Kellogg’s Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University. She is a member of the Alpha Pi Mu, the Industrial Engineering Honor Society. Under her leadership, HP Puerto Rico received the HP’s President Quality Award given by the HP’s CEO. Lucy has been recognized by various institutions.
Andreica Maldonado
Program Director of the Research Grants Program
Puerto Rico Science Technology Research Trust
Andreica Maldonado
Andreica Maldonado
Program Director
Research Grants Program
Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust
After living in the mainland United States for six years, Andreica Maldonado returned to her homeland to join Parallel18 as a Startup Executive. At Parallel18, Andreica managed a group of 16 startups during each cohort, meeting with them on a daily basis and executing the acceleration curriculum effectively, which includes measuring weekly growth through KPI meetings.
She also was in charge of reviewing and analyzing startup performance and developing midpoint evaluations. In addition, she connected the most prominent startups with investors, mentors, companies, and universities and ensured that the grants were disbursed and spent wisely by the entrepreneurs.
Since December 2017, she leads the Research Grants Program in which she is the spokesperson for agency programs in dealing with the scientific community, Puerto Rican government officials, and other agencies and stakeholders. Supervise the promotional efforts to disseminate information about the grants program to the public at-large. Develop requests for applications (RFAs) or Requests for Proposals (RFPs) designed to solicit specific types of grant or contract proposals from the scientific community. Implement the review process, oversee the identification and screening of reviewers, and organize peer-review groups to evaluate letters of intent and/or research proposals on the basis of their scientific merit. Under the direction of the Grants Committee, lead efforts to set yearly funding priorities, determining best practices and policies for proposal review, grants award, and grants management, and providing evaluations of the grants programs and recommendations for improvement. In addition, she is responsible for the distribution of the “Post Hurricane Maria Aid for Researchers” initiative funds, that is designed to help Puerto Rican investigators continue their projects and reestablish operations in their laboratories
Previously, she was a project manager and senior program coordinator at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey’s Center for Leadership and Management. At Rutgers, she managed the New Jersey County Welfare Agencies Leadership and Management Development Project. In that capacity, she conducted research, produced reports, and delivered presentations at each of the state’s 21 counties.
She also has experience in working with disparate community cohorts, including seniors, women, and adolescents, in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico.
Andreica holds a B.A. in General Social Sciences from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez and a Master’s Degree in Nonprofit and Public Management from the Rutgers University School of Social Work.
Juan E. Figueroa, PhD
Associated Researcher and Entrepreneurship Advisor
Puerto Rico Science Technology Research Trust
Juan E. Figueroa, PhD
Juan E. Figueroa, PhD
Associated Researcher and Entrepreneurship Advisor
Puerto Rico Science Technology Research Trust
Topic: SBIR/STTR Federal Grants – A digital hub of resources and funds for the development and commercialization of innovative technologies.
Dr. Juan E. Figueroa is an Entrepreneurship Advisor and Associated Researcher at the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust (Trust) and is responsible for working with researchers and innovators to transform the results of their research and ideas into product concepts with high potential for commercial success. He also works in the search for research and commercialization funds from private and government sources for the Trust community.
David L. Gulley, PhD, RTTP, CLP
Director of the Technology Transfer Office
Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust
David L. Gulley, PhD, RTTP, CLP
David L. Gulley, PhD, RTTP, CLP
Director of the Technology Transfer Office
Puerto Rico Science, Technology and Research Trust
Topic: XLerator Network XLN Programs and I-RED
Dr. Gulley is founding Director of the Technology Transfer Office (TTO) which was established in 2017 at the Puerto Rico Science, Technology, and Research Trust. The TTO is a regional tech transfer office serving the island’s public and private universities, which includes 13 campuses and 4 medical schools. From 1989-2012 he served at the University of Illinois as Associate Vice President, Technology and Economic Development, and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research at Chicago. From 2012-2015 he led an AUTM (Association of University Technology Managers) engagement in Chile to establish and reinforce 21 TTOs. He has been a member of LES (Licensing Executives Society) and AUTM for more than 25 years, serving on the AUTM board and currently as Chair of International Strategy overseeing strategic alliances and 9 regional committees across the globe. He is past Chair of the Certified Licensing Professionals, Inc. and he was a founding member of the ATTP (Alliance of Technology Transfer Professionals), representing AUTM, and serves on the RTTP (Registered Technology Transfer Professional) Peer Review Committee. Dr. Gulley holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Southern Illinois University and a graduate degree from Virginia Tech and is a Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) and a Certified Licensing Professional (CLP).
Caroline B. Appleyard, PhD
Professor of Physiology & Pharmacology and Internal Medicine
Department of Basic Sciences
Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU)
Caroline B. Appleyard, PhD
Caroline B. Appleyard, PhD
Professor of Physiology & Pharmacology and Internal Medicine
Department of Basic Sciences
Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU)
Co-Founder and Scientific Director of Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC
Topic: Topic: From Lab Collaboration to Partners in Business: Female Founders in Action
Caroline B. Appleyard, PhD, FAPS is a Professor in the Department of Basic Sciences at Ponce Health Sciences University (PHSU) with an active research program centered around the role of inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Her laboratory carries out translational research focused on the transition of intestinal inflammation to cancer and the impact of stress and complementary interventions on the intestinal tract in conditions such as colitis and endometriosis. She is the Co-founder and Scientific Director of Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, a woman-owned company that promotes integrative medical care for women’s well-being and focuses on raising the level of care for endometriosis.
Annelyn Torres-Reveron, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
Ponce Health Sciences University
Ponce Research Institute
Annelyn Torres-Reveron, PhD
Annelyn Torres-Reveron, PhD
Adjunct Faculty
Ponce Health Sciences University
Ponce Research InstituteCo-Founder and CEO of Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC
Topic: From Lab Collaboration to Partners in Business: Female Founders in Action
Annelyn Torres-Reveron, PhD is the Co-Founder and CEO of Sur180 Therapeutics, LLC, a biomedical startup developing new treatments for endometriosis. She is also an Adjunct Faculty at Ponce Health Sciences University/Ponce Research Institute. After 11 years in Academia, she jumped full-time into the entrepreneurship environment. She is certified in Integrative Medicine approaches and recently obtained a certification in Biotechnology Program Management. Annelyn continues her long-term research collaborations in endometriosis research with faculty from Ponce Research Institute and combines her scientific expertise with training in entrepreneurship and startup development to direct Sur180 Therapeutics.
Akiva Mintz, MD, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair Translational Research
Director, Columbia University PET Center
Department of Radiology
Akiva Mintz, MD, PhD
Akiva Mintz, MD, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair Translational Research
Director, Columbia University PET Center
Department of Radiology
CoDirector, Translational Therapeutics Accelerator (TRx)
Director, Pilot and Collaborative Studies Resource (PCSR)
Associate Director, Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, Columbia University
Topic: Role of Accelerators and Partnerhsips in Drug Development
Akiva Mintz is a physician-scientist whose translational research focuses on developing and personalizing cancer therapies using non-invasive molecular imaging. He obtained his medical and graduate degrees at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Dr. Mintz subsequently completed a Nuclear Medicine Residency and an NIH-sponsored molecular imaging fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Mintz is dual-board certified in Nuclear Medicine and Clinical Informatics. In addition to his medical training, Dr. Mintz is a CFA charterholder and completed a Masters in Healthcare Administration (MHA) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Dr. Mintz is currently a Tenured Professor of Radiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He serves as an Associate Director of the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Columbia University, where he leads the pilot funding and Accelerate Therapeutics Accelerator (TRx). He also serves as Vice Chair of Translational Research for the Department of Radiology and is director of the Columbia University PET Center and division chief of the Division of Nuclear Medicine.
Dr. Mintz’s cross-translational research efforts exploit nuclear-based molecular imaging and therapy techniques to personalize anti-cancer therapies. His work is funded by multiple NIH grants and the American Cancer Society.
Bárbara Rivera Chinea
Program Director of Fase1, an entrepreneurship incubator and CDBG-DR funded program.
Bárbara Rivera Chinea
Bárbara Rivera-Chinea is currently the Program Director of Fase1, an entrepreneurship incubator and CDBG-DR funded program.
Bárbara joined the Trust in 2018 as the Director of Recuperación Agrícola an 18-month collaborative program funded by the American Red Cross to provide local small and disadvantaged farmers with equipment, supplies, infrastructure, and capacity building for their prompt recovery after the impact of 2017 hurricanes. In 2020 she was appointed as the Director of the Re-Grow Puerto Rico Urban and Rural Agriculture program, the first CDBG-DR funded program granted to the Trust as a sole subrecipient to administer and disburse grants to eligible and affected famers and food producers to reestablish and expand local agricultural production to support Puerto Rico’s food security and economic development efforts.
Previously, Bárbara worked for over 15 years in business development in the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), at the Federal Contracting Center (FeCC), a nation-wide Department of Defense funded program that supports small businesses in obtaining contracts with the federal government.
Bárbara has participated several times as a subject matter expert in the Emerging Leaders program, a Small Business Administration entrepreneurship training program, and collaborated as a specialized resource in many conferences and industry events throughout her 15-year career in federal procurement and business development. She played a leading role in the establishment and performance of industry clusters such as the Puerto Rico IT Cluster, participating in trade missions and the coordination of key events like the CIO & IT Leadership Conference, among many others.
Barbara has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing/ Business Administration from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus.