Where did Darren Cooke go to school?

Darren Cooke studied at Columbia Law School (Doctor of Law - JD); University of California, Berkeley (Master of Science - MS, Mechanical Engineering); California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Bachelor of Science - BS, Mechanical Engineering).

Darren Cooke

Investor

Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer at UC Berkeley Skydeck

San Francisco Bay Area

Find your path to Darren

687 people in our graph share verified history with Darren — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Arhaan A.unlockedDarren: together at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business (2024)

×4Darren: together at Columbia Law School

×4Darren: together at University of California, Berkeley

×2Darren: together at The National Institutes of Health

About

Darren Cooke is UC Berkeley's Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, chair of the President's Entrepreneurship Network Council at the University of California Office of the President, and executive director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center. He serves as a professional faculty member at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and previously chaired the Bio Track at the Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, taught entrepreneurship for the NIH and NSF Innovation Corps program, and chaired Medical Device and Digital Health at Life Science Angels. His earlier career includes leading the IP legal team for the life science tools group at Bio-Rad Laboratories, working as a life sciences patent litigator at Covington and Burling, and developing cochlear implants as a mechanical engineer at UCSF.

Experience

University of California, BerkeleyChief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officercurrent2026 — presentBerkeley, California, United States
University of California, BerkeleyExecutive Director, Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Centercurrent2021 — presentBerkeley, California, United States
University of California, BerkeleyInterim Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer2024 — 2026Berkeley, California, United States
University of CaliforniaSpecial Advisor to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairscurrent2026 — present
Life Science AngelsInvestorcurrent2015 — present
Life Science AngelsMedical Device and Digital Health Chair, Board Member2017 — 2018San Francisco Bay Area
University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of BusinessProfessional Faculty2021 — 2024
Berkeley SkyDeckChair, Bio Track2018 — 2024Berkeley, California, United States
National Science Foundation (NSF)National Faculty, NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps)2017 — 2024
National Science Foundation (NSF)Coach, NSF Convergence Accelerator2019 — 2021
Torvents IPAttorney2015 — 2023San Francisco Bay Area
LAUNCH: The University of California's Startup AcceleratorFaculty2019 — 2021
The National Institutes of HealthCore Faculty, Innovation Corps (I-Corps) at NIH2020
Bio-Rad LaboratoriesLead IP Counsel2005 — 2015Hercules, California
Covington & Burling LLPPatent Litigation Attorney2002 — 2005San Francisco, California
PERKINS COIE BROWN & BAIN, P.APatent Litigation Attorney1999 — 2002Phoenix, Arizona
University of California, San FranciscoMechanical Engineer1993 — 1995San Francisco, California

Skills & more

Berkeley 1000xEarly-Stage Startups1Lean Startup1Entrepreneurship1Market Research1Intellectual Property31Patents28Patent Litigation15Biotechnology16Licensing15Technology Transfer9Lifesciences2

+9 more

LitigationCorporate LawMergers & AcquisitionsTrade SecretsTrademarksPatent ProsecutionCopyright LawPatentabilityLife Sciences

Registered Patent Attorney — USPTO
License to Practice Law — State Bar of California

From Darren's professional profile.

Colleagues at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli

EECS Professor (Strategy Council) at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Alec Opdyke

Business Development Manager at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Aleksander Kuczek

Ambassador, EMEA at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Allen Yang

Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences; Executive Director, FHL Vive Center for Enhanced Reality (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Amy E. Herr, Ph.D.

Professor of Bioengineering; Faculty Director, Bakar BioEnginuity Hub (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Anca Dragan

Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences; Director, Interact Lab (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Armando Fox

Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (Faculty Advisor) at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Balu Masti

Ambassador, India at UC Berkeley Skydeck

Frequently asked questions

Who is Darren Cooke?: Darren Cooke is UC Berkeley's Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer, chair of the President's Entrepreneurship Network Council at the University of California Office of the President, and executive director of the Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Center. He serves as a professional faculty member at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and previously chaired the Bio Track at the Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, taught entrepreneurship for the NIH and NSF Innovation Corps program, and chaired Medical Device and Digital Health at Life Science Angels. His earlier career includes leading the IP legal team for the life science tools group at Bio-Rad Laboratories, working as a life sciences patent litigator at Covington and Burling, and developing cochlear implants as a mechanical engineer at UCSF.
Where does Darren Cooke work?: Darren Cooke is Chief Innovation & Entrepreneurship Officer at UC Berkeley Skydeck.
Where did Darren Cooke go to school?: Darren Cooke studied at Columbia Law School (Doctor of Law - JD); University of California, Berkeley (Master of Science - MS, Mechanical Engineering); California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo (Bachelor of Science - BS, Mechanical Engineering).

Same school

Also attended Columbia Law School107

Sapna MehtaInvestor at Revolution Joanna BlackGeneral Counsel at Madrona Venture Group Howard CoxSpecial Limited Partner at Greylock Partners Pria NarsimanGeneral Counsel at Greycroft Elaine SunInvestor at CapitalG Jack LevyInvestor at Israel Cleantech Ventures

+ 101 more

Also attended University of California, Berkeley2,000

Byron DeeterPartner at Bessemer Venture Partners Steve WozniakCo-founder of Apple Tony XuCo-founder & CEO of DoorDash Aravind SrinivasCo-founder & CEO of Perplexity AI Ali GhodsiCo-founder & CEO of Databricks Ryan PetersenFounder & CEO of Flexport

+ 1,994 more

Also attended California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo160

Brent FellowsVice President, Finance and Tax at Menlo Ventures Travis BryantSales Leadership at Redpoint Ventures Max DavisSenior Accountant at Heavybit Elizabeth PattersonOperating Partner at Sapphire Ventures Ryan AzusFormer Chief Revenue Officer at Zoom Video Communications at Scale Venture Partners Brad GritschFinance at Lux Capital

+ 154 more

Shared employers

Also worked at University of California, Berkeley469

Ali GhodsiCo-founder & CEO of Databricks Raquel UrtasunFounder & CEO of Waabi Arhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear Ventures Kevin Wijayaインドネシア法人代表 (Indonesia Office Representative) at CyberAgent Capital Paul JennyBoard Chair at CincyTech Michael PerezDeputy General Counsel at Mucker Capital

+ 463 more

Also worked at University of California20

Paul JennyBoard Chair at CincyTech Renee NiemiProduct Partner at Mighty Capital Vivian LovettHead of Legal at Samsung Next Jesse KingPartner, General Counsel at KPCB Matt RobertsCo-Founder and Partner at Prysm Capital Ratan ManehaniPartner at R136 Ventures

+ 14 more

Also worked at University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business105

Arhaan A.Deeptech Fellow at Clear Ventures Jules MaltzInvestor at IVP (Institutional Venture Partners)Lana DevlikamovaLegal Operations Manager at CapitalG Alex TranInvestor at CapitalG Lisa SuennenVenture Partner at PROOF Sebastian KreisVenture Partner & IC Member at ATTOM CAPITAL

+ 99 more

Also worked at LAUNCH: The University of California's Startup Accelerator3

Viram ShahFounder at Vested Aaron GyureFounder at Kwikkart Sergio PachonExecutive Officer, Director at Kiwi Campus