Dr. Gregory D. Graff

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Biography

Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, in a family engaged for several generations in the foods business at Procter & Gamble, I inherited an ethos of science-based innovation with strong social values. I received a bachelors in Biological Sciences from Cornell University in 1992, a master’s at Ohio State University in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of California at Berkeley in 2002.

My research looks at the economics and public policy of technological innovation and entrepreneurship across the agricultural and food industries. I focus on the interplay of intellectual property rights, technology transfer, startups, venture capital, and other aspects of the innovation ecosystem, with a particular interest and expertise in the role of patents in biological innovation. I value and enjoy cross-disciplinary research, collaborating with colleagues in the physical sciences, engineering, law, and business. I typically publish in the economics literature as well as in leading scientific journals like Science and Nature Biotechnology. At CSU, I teach courses on the global agricultural and food system, agricultural policy, entrepreneurship, and the economics of technological change in agriculture.

I am currently working with colleagues across CSU to launch our new Masters of Agribusiness and Food Innovation Management at CSU’s new Spur campus, located at the National Western Center in Denver. Designed for professionals from a variety of academic, business, and personal backgrounds, this intensive program will develop the suite of creative and business skills needed to drive innovation and development of new enterprises in today’s agricultural and food industries. This will be an intensive, full-time, 16-month experience, with a combination of coursework, active networking, and practical experience in developing and launching new products, technologies, and ventures.

Recent talks given:

• “Intersections of Venture Capital, Intellectual Property, and Innovation in Agriculture,” invited presentation for the Intellectual Property Committee of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), January 14, 2021.
• “Intellectual Property as a Governance Mechanism for Genome Editing in Agriculture and Food,” invited presentation for conference on Gene Editing in Agriculture and Food: Social Concerns, Public Engagement and Governance, Iowa State University, October 20-21, 2020.
• “Global Roots of Innovation in Plant Biotechnology” with co-author Intan Hamdan-Livramento, WIPO, presentation at International Consortium for Applied Bioeconomy Research (ICABR) Virtual Conference, October 15, 2020.
• “Venture Capital and the Transformation of Private R&D for Agriculture and Food,” invited presentation for session on “Studying Innovation in Agriculture – New data and tools,” Allied Social Sciences Association (ASSA), San Diego, January 3, 2020.
• “Intellectual property and CRISPR-Cas gene editing for innovation in crop agriculture,” invited seminar, Innovative Genomics Institute, University of California Berkeley, December 3, 2019.

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