James Kovach, MD

Chief Innovation Officer, Aggie Square (UC-Davis Sacramento Innovation Center) and Director of Translational Entrepreneurship and Industry Research Relationships, University of California – Davis

Dr. James Kovach serves as Director, Entrepreneurism and Innovation at the University of California Davis Health, where he supports physician training in entrepreneurship; and industry outreach to support translational science. Dr. Kovach also serves as the Chief Innovation Officer for “Aggie Square,” the UC-Davis Sacramento Innovation Center.

Dr. Kovach received his medical degree with distinction from the University of Kentucky while simultaneously playing in the National Football League. Following his NFL career, he attended law school at Stanford University and practiced corporate law in Palo Alto California.

Previously, he has directed the Technology Transfer Program at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, served as Chief Operating Officer of Athersys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHX), a leading public biotechnology company developing stem cell therapeutics, and served as President of the Buck Institute for Age Research, an independent research institute dedicated exclusively to research on aging and age-associated disease.

Dr. Kovach played 7 years in the National Football League as a middle linebacker for the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. He is a member of the Southeastern Conference Legends Athletic Hall of Fame; and a member of the COSIDA Academic All-American Hall of Fame.