CAS-IP: Who we Are

History

The Central Advisory Service on Intellectual Property was created in the year 2000 by the Alliance Centers of the CGIAR.  Dr. Victoria Henson-Apollonio is head of the unit which is hosted by Bioversity International in Rome, Italy.  CAS was originally created in response to the need for a centralized intellectual property advisory service for the 15 CGIAR Centres. 

Team Details

Since 2006 CAS-IP has taken a team approach to conducting its work. The CAS team members are based in various regions across the globe. The benefit of this approach is that staff based in different regions can respond to regional needs more effectively. We have staff based in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Dr. Victoria Henson-Apollonio Senior Scientist and Manager of CAS-IP since its creation in 2000. Her unique background combines both scientific and academic achievement with real-life IP expertise. She has many years practical experience as a patent agent and as a technology transfer (TT) and patent specialist at the Argonne National Laboratory and as a tenured member of the faculty of the Department of Biology at Purdue University, USA. This overlap of scientific and legal skills makes her exceptionally well placed to offer advice on IP and TT issues in agriculture. A graduate from the University of Florida’s College of Agriculture (Major in Animal Science), Victoria holds a PhD in Pathology ( College of Medicine; University of Florida) and is a registered U.S. Patent Agent. v.henson-apollonio@cgiar.org
Kay Chapman Kay Chapman joined CAS-IP in 2005 with over 10 years experience as a marketing communications manager. She brings with her a strong commercial discipline and specialised marketing skills. Kay is a business graduate and holds a postgraduate diploma in marketing from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Marketing. Throughout her career she has focused on results-driven, proactive marketing campaign management. Since joining CAS-IP she has applied her marketing expertise to disseminating the results of CAS-IP work to a wider audience. k.chapman@cgiar.org
Irina Curca Irina Curca joined CAS-IP in 2007 with a strong academic background in the field of International Relations and International Organizations. Whilst principally being responsible for the CAS-IP office administration, Irina has also been learning about IP issues to strengthen her contribution to the unit. She has been attending European Commission FP7 training courses and studying for the WIPO introduction to Intellectual Property. Irina holds a Masters degree in International Relations and Diplomacy from the oldest Italian University, the University of Bologna. Previously she worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy and for the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). i.curca@cgiar.org
Karine Malgrand Karine is working with CAS-IP to coordinate activities for the National Partners Initiative. She acts as a focal point for questions and as a facilitator to move work plans forward. We are fortunate to have Karine on the team in this role as she brings a wealth of experience in planning research projects in Agriculture, Food Security and Health. She regularly facilitates strategy development meetings with culturally diverse stakeholder and researcher groups. Her work includes coordinating research with organisations in developing countries, the monitoring and evaluation of projects and fundraising activities for national partners and international organisations.
Maria I. Mendoza Maria Mendoza is a Colombian attorney, based in the US, who has been working for CAS-IP as a consultant since 2005. Maria has extensive experience protecting developing countries’ “intangible assets” through legal, institutional and technical options. Her experience as a legal office attorney includes researching developing countries use of Intellectual Property Rights and policy formulation in biotechnology and biosafety in Colombia. This positions her as a vital resource for CAS-IP and those we work with. m.i.mendoza@cgiar.org
Dr. Sean Butler Honorary Research Fellow for CAS-IP based in Cambridge University, UK Dr Sean Butler studied Law at both Oxford University (St. Edmund Hall) and the London School of Economics and Genetics at Cambridge University before taking his PhD in social science at Imperial College, London. He is a qualified solicitor, and has worked in both private practice and for Royal Dutch Shell in the UK specialising in intellectual property, particularly in life sciences. His field of research is technology transfer, focusing on academic-industry collaborations, spin-outs and patent licensing. He has conducted research projects for the BBSRC and the Finnish government, and is currently working on a project for the European Commission on intellectual property in collaborative research. Dr. Butler has been an Honorary Research Fellow for CAS-IP since 2005. cas-cgiar@cgiar.org
Guat Hong Teh Guat Hong Teh graduated with a First Class Honours in Law from the University of London and holds a Masters of Law degree from the prestigious University of Cambridge. She is a member of the Malaysian Bar and before her appointment, was an associate in an international law firm advising on various dispute resolution and intellectual property matters. She brings to the CAS-IP team her transactional IP experience, contractual negotiation skills and litigation background. Guat Hong joined CAS-IP in 2006 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. g.h.teh@cgiar.org
Sebastian Derwisch Sebastian holds both a Bachelor of Forestry and a Master of Tropical and International Forestry from the University of Göttingen/Germany. Following an internship at CAS-IP he was drawn into the field of Intellectual Property Management. The main focus of his work has been Humanitarian Use exemptions and the use of Traditional Knowledge in the CGIAR. Sebastian started working for CAS-IP as a full time consultant in 2006. His current focus is on the development of a System Dynamics model for agricultural innovation in developing countries. s.derwisch@cgiar.org
Peter Bloch Peter Bloch, co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer of Light Years IP, analyses intellectual property issues in developing countries and assists clients to explore the commercial potential of under-utilised and “invisible” IP assets. Prior to the formation of Light Years IP in 2000, Bloch worked in the media industry for 25 years, licensing and managing intellectual property. After working in the film industry, Bloch founded a series of companies which produced educational media. His partners and clients included IBM, McGraw Hill, Sony, the Getty Museum and the Library of Congress. After working on projects in Ethiopia, Jamaica, Paraguay and Kenya, he left Light Years in 2007 and now works as a consultant to CAS-IP, assisting CG centres with IP related technology transfer and market development issues.
Sebastian Poehlmann Sebastian Poehlmann began working with CAS-IP as part of a GTZ funded internship scheme. He will continue to work on the CAS System Dynamics Modelling research project with Sebastian Derwisch and Birgit Kopainsky. An economist, Sebastian first specialised in Behavioural Microeconomics at the LMU in Munich before going on to focus his efforts on System Dynamics Modelling during a Masters programme at Bergen University in Norway.
Dr. Birgit Kopainsky Birgit is supporting Sebastian Derwisch and Sebastian Pöhlmann in the development of the system dynamics model for analysing the contribution of IP to agricultural innovation systems in developing countries. Her research and consulting are driven by an interest in the management of socioeconomic transformation processes, both in developing countries and in lagging rural regions in industrialised countries. Birgit holds a masters degree in Geography and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from ETH Zurich. She has been a guest researcher at the System Dynamics Group at the University at Albany in the United States and is currently a member of the System Dynamics Group at the University of Bergen in Norway.
Ewa Hermanowicz Ewa joined CAS-IP in January 2008 on a part-time basis. She is helping with the logistics and organisation of the various CAS-IP meetings. Ewa is a Human Sciences graduate and holds a postgraduate diploma in International Cooperation. She previously worked for the Science Council Secretariat and the Natural Resources Management and Environment Department of FAO.

Members

CAS assists the following member Centers: