Lita Nelsen

Lita Nelsen recently retired from her position as Director of the Technology Licensing Office at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she had been since 1986.  She now works as a consultant in technology transfer and entrepreneurship in the US, Europe and Asia.

 Lita earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from M.I.T. and an M.S. in Management from M.I.T. as a Sloan Fellow.

Prior to joining the M.I.T. TLO, she spent 20 years in industry, primarily in the fields of membrane separations, medical devices, and biotechnology

 Lita has served on many boards including the Association of University Technology as president.. She was also on the board of Mass Ventures (MTDC) for 20 years, and is currently on the scientific advisory boards of Partners’ Investment Fund and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and is a senior advisor to Omega Funds Limited. She was recently awarded Xconomy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in Biotechnology. In 2009 the UK Government awarded her the honor of “Member of the Order of the British Empire” (MBE) for her work with technology transfer institutions throughout the UK.