Leadership

Associate Vice President, UR Ventures
harl_tolbert@urmc.rochester.edu

Harl Tolbert serves as the Associate Vice President for UR Ventures at the University of Rochester, where he leads efforts to help researchers patent their work, license it to commercial partners, and create startups when appropriate.

He previously held leadership roles at technology transfer offices at Pennsylvania State University and the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and served as associate director of the University of Rochester Medical Center Office of Technology Transfer until 2013. Before transitioning to academic technology transfer, Harl worked in the commercial sector with Abbott Laboratories and Pierce Chemical.

A Louisiana native, Harl earned a bachelor of science from Southern University and both an MBA and a master of science from the University of Illinois, bringing decades of expertise in innovation and commercialization across fields such as therapeutics, medical devices, diagnostics, engineering, and chemistry.