Elizabeth Harper
Technology Licensing Analyst
Elizabeth joined JHTV full time in February 2026 as a Technology Licensing Analyst after serving as a Senior Fellow in the Commercialization Academy while completing her postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Through the Commercialization Academy, she discovered her interest in technology transfer. The field appealed to her because it offers the opportunity to stay close to the science while learning the business side of innovation and helping translate discoveries into real-world impact.
Elizabeth earned her B.A. in Biology and Chemistry from Earlham College and her Ph.D. in Integrated Biomedical Sciences with a concentration in Cancer Biology from the University of Notre Dame. Her graduate and postdoctoral research focused on how aging influences the tumor microenvironment, particularly changes in the extracellular matrix and their impact on cancer progression and responses to immunotherapy.
Outside of work, Elizabeth spends her time volunteering at The Book Thing of Baltimore, tackling DIY home improvement projects, and hanging out with her dog, Denver, who is always down for a trip to Bmore Licks.
Deja Robinson
Student Program Administrator, Pava Center
Deja is the Student Program Administrator at the Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship. She brings a rare combination of regulatory expertise, entrepreneurial vision, and an unstoppable desire to uplift innovators at JHU. She supports all the accelerators and entrepreneurship educational experiences held at the Pava Center but focuses on the Kindling pre-accelerator experience. Deja brings nearly five years of FDA experience to her work, having served as a Cardiovascular Medical Device Reviewer and Program Manager for Breakthrough Medical Device Technologies. Paired with a dual MS in Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Technology and Innovation Management from Carnegie Mellon University, she is uniquely positioned at the intersection of innovation, compliance, and commercialization.
At the heart of Deja’s work is a belief that great ideas deserve a clear path to market. Through the Kindling pre-accelerator experience, she champions early-stage founders through the critical and often overlooked work of customer discovery and market validation. Now pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health degree at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Deja continues to deepen her expertise while translating research into real-world impact…embodying the JHTV mission from the inside out!
Deja is a novice strongwoman and entering her first competition this summer! She’s hauled a few fire hydrants and atlas stones so — watch out! Deja is also a collector of hobbies with her most recent interest being all things Please do not discuss a new hobby option to Deja for longer than 30 seconds — she WILL add it to her hobby arsenal.
Kayla Schroer
Assistant Director New Business Development
Kayla joined the Corporate Partnerships team at JHTV as Assistant Director of New Business Development in October 2025. She brings a rare mix of firsthand scientific expertise and institutional strategy to the role. Before moving to Baltimore, Kayla spent nearly eight years at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she transitioned from a postdoctoral fellow investigating the molecular mechanisms of cerebrovascular disease to serving as the Chief Strategist for the Bakar Aging Research Institute.
Because she’s been on both sides of the lab bench, Kayla uniquely understands what it takes to bring academic discoveries into the commercial world. She focuses on connecting industry partners with university innovators, using her background in strategic planning and project management to build high-impact corporate collaborations.
As it turns out, navigating the fast-paced world of academic discovery and corporate partnerships is also excellent prep work for her life at home. Managing a busy household with two young daughters requires the exact same toolkit: rapid problem-solving, elite negotiation skills, and plenty of agility.