ASCEND2.0 will be led by the team of John Chavez (PD/PI), Managing Director of NMSUF, and UNM academic leads Dr. Eric Prossnitz (Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine, Maralyn S. Budke Chair in Cancer Chemical Biology & Therapeutics, and academic lead of ASCEND1.0) and Dr. Robert DelCampo (Rutledge Endowed Professor in Management, Bill Daniels Business Ethics Fellow, and Executive Director of UNM's Innovation Academy), who serve as MPIs. This team possesses the expertise and experience to drive the design, testing, validation, and commercialization of health-related entrepreneurship educational products.
Eric Prossnitz, PhD
Academic Lead, UNM HSC
Dr. Prossnitz is Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine and has extensive experience in team science and entrepreneurship/commercialization from the academic perspective in his role as Team Science and Commercialization Lead in the UNM CTSC. He also serves on the board of the UNM TTO, Rainforest Innovations. He holds 12 patents and his technologies have resulted in the creation of 3 startup companies. He served as the Academic Lead for ASCEND1.0. He will serve as PI for the academic partnership with New Mexico Start-Up Factory, working closely with PD Chavez and Dr. DelCampo on all aspects of the ASCEND program to implement all training, education, testing and validation efforts throughout the Technology Transfer Network.
Rob DelCampo, PhD
Academic Lead, UNM Anderson
The ASCEND2.0 team is strengthened by the participation of experienced individuals and prominent regional institutions. Our product design team is led by Dr. Robert DelCampo from the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management. DelCampo has created numerous innovative products focused on the training of students and faculty regarding entrepreneurship and technology transfer. DelCampo also currently serves on multiple editorial boards and as Editor-in-Chief of Administrative Sciences. He has published or presented over 75 papers and is the author of seven books. He has consulted for over 25 Fortune 500 companies including Contact PD/PI: Chavez, John Commercialization Plan Page 74 Ford, Home Depot, Dell, and Intel. DelCampo earned a Ph.D. from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.Dr. DelCampo serves as Principal Investigator for the grant. He is a Professor of Organizational Behavior and has extensive experience in administration and grants management. His primary responsibilities will be to aid in the design of the training program and ensure the completion of all reporting requirements.
John Chavez, MBA (PD)
Managing Director of NMSUF
John Chavez, MBA, (PD) has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Regulatory Economics from New Mexico State University and has been part of New Mexico’s economic development ecosystem since 2008. He has been responsible for creating technology showcase forums that have allowed angel technology partners like Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), the UNM and NMSU to present technologies available for licensing to angel investors and venture capitalists. In 2013, he co-founded the New Mexico Start-Up Factory, a company that spins out technology start-ups based on innovations developed by New Mexico scientists and entrepreneurs.
