Martha Jurczak, MFA
Assistant Dean for Business and Economic Development
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Director, Strategy & Business Development
University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing
mjurczak@som.umaryland.edu
Martha Jurczak joined the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2022 to help build the Institute for Health Computing, direct industry partnering and economic development strategy, and collaborate across the campus and its partner health system to enhance a shared clinical research infrastructure. She is MPI of the Baltimore Comprehensive Overdose Response to End the Epidemic (BCORE), a multidisciplinary collaborative that secured $25M in state and municipal funding commitments to create a citywide treatment network for people coping with opioid use disorder. Ms. Jurczak came to UMSOM from the University of Pittsburgh where she developed research partnerships with pharma and biotech companies on behalf of the Department of Medicine, generating multimillion-dollar research alliances with top-15 pharma companies, and doubling industry funding over four years. Ms. Jurczak earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in theater management from the Yale School of Drama in 2011 and is currently pursuing an executive MBA at the University of Maryland Smith School of Business. Prior to working in academic medicine, she was Chief Operating Officer and consultant at Organizational Performance Group, a New Haven, CT-based consulting firm specializing in organizational development, where she worked with clients in the healthcare and nonprofit sectors. She served as Associate Managing Director of Yale Repertory Theatre and Assistant Director of Development at Court Theatre in Chicago. Ms. Jurczak has worked as a freelance writer, editor, and consultant for clients such as Harvard Business School and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Claire Brown, MS
Director of Industry Partnerships
Claire.Brown@som.umaryland.edu
Claire Brown is Director of Industry Partnerships at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. She leads efforts to expand industry-sponsored research and build strategic collaborations with corporate partners, startups, and research organizations across the life sciences, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical sectors.
Ms. Brown brings experience in partnership development, industry engagement, and research strategy from roles across academic and consulting environments. She previously advanced industry collaborations at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and advised pharmaceutical clients at Numerof & Associates on market and portfolio strategy.
She holds an M.S. in Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology and a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of South Florida and is a registered patent agent.
Robert McClain, PhD
Director of Industry Partnerships
Robert.McClain@som.umaryland.edu
Robert McClain, PhD, is Director of Industry Partnerships at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He brings to this role a blend of experience spanning both industry and academia. Dr. McClain’s private sector experience includes research and development, business development, and entrepreneurship. He is also an inventor of patented, commercially deployed innovations.
Most recently, he was Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, where he led a range of strategic research and economic development initiatives. His academic responsibilities have included technology commercialization, seed grant programs, core facility operations, and startup incubation. In an interim capacity, he also served as Executive Vice President for Research. In 2022, Dr. McClain secured a $2 million grant to launch a regional SBIR Phase 0 program—the first of its kind in North Texas. The program was selected as a 2024 Awards of Excellence finalist by the University Economic Development Association.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Abilene Christian University and his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied peptide chemistry and the de novo engineering of small proteins using solid-phase synthesis.