Ivan C. Baines is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and a Board Member of the MPI-CBG, where he oversees all daily operations of the Institute including heading the administration, the technical and scientific services, and is responsible for technology transfer and commercialization. He was formerly with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States working in three main areas: managing a large portfolio of research areas with regard to scientific review and administration for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), serving on its Technical Evaluation Board focused on out-licensing and cooperative R&D agreements, and the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program during the course of which he advised the structuring of over 100 new start-ups in the life sciences sector. He was a co-founder of Biopolis Consultants in Dresden and has advised the public sector on establishing regional bioclusters. He has served on numerous biotech boards and has been published extensively in leading scientific journals. Ivan C. Baines received his PhD in cell biology and biochemistry from the University of London in 1988. Ivan is Visiting Professor in the Executive Masters in Management of Research Infrastructures.