Andrew Short, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Innovation
As associate director of innovation, Andrew works to grow GRA’s investment portfolio of projects and startups — and help drive their success.
Central to this work is developing the pipeline of university technologies that are in the earliest stages of commercialization. Andrew scouts Georgia’s universities for inventions that have market potential and evaluates researcher-entrepreneur proposals for venture development funding. He mentors and guides teams that receive GRA venture investment to help them reach milestones and forge the best path to market. And he helps to build partnerships between the leaders of startups and representatives in industry and the investment community.
A materials scientist and synthetic biologist, Andrew joined GRA in June 2023 straight from a research lab and a biotech accelerator. As a Ph.D. candidate and researcher at Georgia Tech, he studied synthetic biology and genetic engineering in the bacterium E. coli, working to make gene expression more predictable and controllable.
He was also director of strategy for the Atlanta branch of Nucleate, a nonprofit biotech accelerator that provides education and tools to biotech students aiming to start their own companies. There, he recruited technical founders for startups and mobilized investors, seasoned biotech entrepreneurs and industry regulators to serve as guides and mentors.
In 2022, Andrew co-founded University Bioconnect, a biotech meetup series aimed at growing the bio-entrepreneurial community in Georgia. Bioconnect invites speakers with success stories in biotech entrepreneurship, investing and JDEI to share their experiences with the community. It also facilitates networking to foster innovation.
Andrew has also worked as an engineering consultant for ThermoFlex, LLC, where he designed and modeled thermoelectric devices. His undergraduate research focused on developing a biodegradable sorbent for oil spill remediation. He holds bachelor’s degrees from Georgia State and Georgia Tech as well as a doctorate in bioengineering from Georgia Tech.
In 2023, Andrew received the Center for Global Health Innovation’s “Golden Helix Award” as Emerging Leader of the Year.
