Laura Calmes serves as the data management analyst for UK Innovate at the University of Kentucky, managing UK’s intellectual property and agreement data. Reporting to the associate director of intellectual property development, she supports data, document and information collection as needed and provides administrative support for the Intellectual Property Committee. She also collaborates with the senior contracts coordinator to establish and update agreement accounts.

Laura is excited to reconnect with UK in a new capacity as an alumna. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in art history with minors in art studio, music performance and Italian in 1993. Living abroad in Italy for a year before attending UK inspired her to pursue her academic interests.

UK has played a significant role in her family’s history in Lexington. Her father, Robert B. Calmes Jr., Ph.D., began his career as a professor in the Colleges of Medicine and Dentistry in 1974, retiring in 1998 as professor emeritus. Her mother, Cathy Calmes, RDH, worked as a dental hygienist in the Department of Periodontics in the College of Dentistry. Currently, her son, Sebastian Calmes, is a wellness specialist on the HR Health & Wellness team. Laura is proud to follow in her family’s footsteps.

Before joining the UK Innovate team, Laura worked as a paralegal in law firms and corporate legal departments in the greater DC metro area and Lexington, focusing on intellectual property, corporate and estate administration law. Outside of work, she enjoys teaching yoga and meditation, playing classical music professionally with her two triplet sisters and continuing her studies and performances in Middle Eastern dance.