Kelly Sexton, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Research - Innovation Partnerships and Economic Impact
Phone: 734.763.0614Email: kbsexton@umich.edu
Assistant: Abha Wiersba
Assistant Phone: 734.763.0614
As Associate Vice President for Research – Innovation Partnerships and Economic Impact, Kelly works closely with the Vice President for Research as well as other leaders across the university to provide visionary and strategic leadership of U-M’s innovation, corporate research and technology commercialization activities, including overseeing Innovation Partnerships. In this role, she supports and encourages university-wide programs for intellectual property development, innovation and engagement with business and venture communities in the region, across the nation and around the globe.
Prior to her arrival at U-M in 2018, Kelly was the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Technology Commercialization and New Ventures at North Carolina State University, where she served as principal investigator for an NSF I-Corps site and co-founded an alumni angel investor network to provide a new source of funding for university startups and spinouts.
Kelly holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the University of Georgia and a Ph.D. in Molecular Pathology from the University of California, San Diego where she was supported by a fellowship from the California Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Kelly completed her postdoctoral studies at Stanford University where she was awarded a fellowship from the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Kelly serves as co-chair of the U-M Roundtable on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, on the Board of the Michigan Venture Capital Association, and as Vice Chair of the Ann Arbor SPARK Board of Directors.