Thomasine Isler is the Innovation and Industry Engagement Manager at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Technology Transfer and Ventures office, within the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation. In this role, she leads efforts to translate cutting-edge university research into real-world impact by building strategic partnerships with industry, advancing commercialization pathways, and aligning academic innovation with market needs.

She also plays a key role in supporting startups emerging from the university ecosystem, working closely with founders, faculty, and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence to shape go-to-market strategies, secure early partnerships, and position technologies for licensing, funding, and scale. Her work focuses on bridging the gap between discovery and deployment, ensuring high-potential innovations have a clear path from lab to launch.

Thomasine brings a unique, mission-driven perspective to innovation, shaped by a distinguished 20-year career in the United States Army. Her experience spans global logistics, operational leadership, and workforce development, including multiple deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. She culminated her military career as a First Sergeant, where she was selected to lead a 400-soldier distribution company and later served in senior leadership roles overseeing hundreds of personnel across diverse specialties.

Today, Thomasine leverages her operational expertise and strategic mindset to drive innovation ecosystems by connecting faculty, industry, and investors to accelerate the development and deployment of high-impact technologies. Her work focuses on creating scalable industry engagement models, enabling research visibility, and building pathways that move ideas from lab to market.