Laura Savatski has directed the patent, licensing, new ventures, and business development activities of academic and healthcare organizations since 1999.  She currently serves as the Executive Director of Innovation and Technology Transfer for the University of Louisville. 

Prior to joining University of Louisville,  Ms. Savatski served on the AUTM Board of Directors and was AUTM Chair from 2020-2021.  She led innovation programming at Versiti, Inc. from 1999 to 2022 where she was responsible for building the innovation program, expanding and turning the industry sponsored research lab division called the applied research lab into a profit center, piloting the SBIR and research grants electronic submission processes for the NIH, and in many other roles at the Versiti’s Blood Research Institute.  In her early career, she co-founded Prodesse, a biotech company that developed the first multiplex PCR method for infectious disease detection based on research she conducted at the Medical College of Wisconsin. 

She is a guest lecturer on economic development through innovation programming, technology transfer administration,  and business development.   Ms. Savatski earned an Honors BS in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from Marquette University and an Executive MBA from University of Wisconsin Madison. She holds the Registered Technology Transfer Professional (RTTP) credential and Certified Licensing Professional (CLP) certification.