From 1999 to his retirement in 2011, Dr. Charles J. Schlagel served as the first Director of the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) at the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC).

In this role, he brought energetic, goal-driven leadership to Navy technology transfer efforts after his previous career in the Naval Medical Service Corps. He skillfully promoted and oversaw technology transfer at some of the nation’s most prolific research institutions, including the NMRC, the Naval Health Research Center, and the Naval Medical Centers in Bethesda, Md., Portsmouth, Va., and San Diego, Calif. His support of technology transfer efforts at NMRC included three overseas detachments in Cairo, Egypt; Lima, Peru; and Southeast Asia.

Thoroughly familiar with both basic research and real-world potential through his background in biomedical research, Dr. Schlagel quickly invigorated technology transfer within the Navy medical system. He developed a comprehensive strategic plan for the NMRC OTT, including plans for expansion. Dr. Schlagel reviewed and assisted in negotiating all Cooperative Research and Development Agreements and Patent License Agreements for the entire Navy medical system, resulting in a dramatic increase in Navy technology transfer partnerships with industry and significantly improving the Navy medical system’s ability to accomplish its mission. His highly effective eff orts to maximize technology transfer in the U.S. Navy were recognized in 2004, when he received the Department of Defense’s first annual George F. Linsteadt Technology Transfer Achievement Award.

Dr. Schlagel reviewed and assisted in negotiating all Cooperative Research and Development Agreements and Patent License Agreements for the entire Navy medical system, resulting in a dramatic increase in Navy technology transfer partnerships with industry and significantly improving the Navy medical system’s ability to accomplish its mission.

Dr. Schlagel has had remarkable success building partnerships between some of the nation’s best medical researchers and entrepreneurial companies anxious to market Navy innovations to both military and civilian customers. An active member of the Licensing Executives Society, he regularly attended meetings with biomedical and pharmaceutical industry representatives.

In April 2011 he represented Navy technology transfer efforts at the World Vaccine Congress attended by key stakeholders in the vaccine market and met with specific private industry and government groups before, during, and after the event. His mediation skills and collaborative technology transfer philosophy were responsible for a growing tradition of rewarding teamwork between the Navy and industry. He facilitated the transfer of high-impact products across the medical spectrum, including a reduced oxygen breathing device that simulates hypoxic conditions for mask-wearing users to facilitate high altitude flight training and research at relatively low cost and risk; a “hearing aid” technology that allows the wearer to detect whether radar is sweeping the area; and a “hearing pill” that uses amino acide N-acetylcysteine to help protect, and even repair, inner ear cells against damage.