Moving biomedical discoveries from federal laboratories into real-world use depends on productive partnerships, but increasingly those partnerships must also account for research security, data protection and national security risks. 
At Innovation for Impact: A National Security Technology Transfer Forum, NIH will bring that challenge into focus with “Risk-Smart Tech Transfer: Protecting NIH Intramural Research and Innovation.” The broader forum, hosted by the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC), will take place Dec. 1–3, 2026, at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia.

The NIH session featuring Tara Kirby, Director of the NIH Office of Technology Transfer, will explore how federal inventors and technology transfer professionals can advance licensing, collaborative research, material transfers and data-sharing arrangements while protecting intellectual property, data, physical research assets and scientific integrity. Speakers will examine a practical, risk-informed approach that brings together technology transfer, research security, asset protection and global research expertise.

For federal laboratories, the approach offers an important advantage: risk mitigation does not have to mean closing the door on collaboration. Better coordination can help organizations evaluate potential concerns consistently while preserving partnerships that move promising discoveries toward public benefit.

Participants will learn strategies for incorporating research security into technology transfer decisions, breaking down organizational silos and protecting federal research assets without unnecessarily slowing innovation.

The session fits the forum’s emphasis on practical technology transition. The three-day FLC program includes 20 educational sessions or panels, with Dec. 1–2 programming focused on federal participants in two tracks: Legal Frameworks for Technology Transfer and ORTA Implementation and Operations. Industry Engagement Day on Dec. 3 will create opportunities for federal laboratories, investors, entrepreneurs and industry partners to explore licensing and collaboration.

More information can be found on the event website.