Kat is a patent agent in Fenwick’s intellectual property and life sciences groups, where she works with life sciences and biotechnology clients in the United States and globally. With particularly extensive experience with CAR-T, antibody, and cell-based therapies, Kat counsels clients in a variety of technological fields including genome-editing technology, computational biology and bioinformatics, diagnostic technology, microbiology, neuroscience, immunology, developmental biology, plant biology and genetics, drug delivery systems, small molecules, cancer biology, and drug discovery.

In addition to patent drafting and prosecution, she assists with diligence projects, freedom-to-operate analyses, and patentability searches, leveraging her multidisciplinary background to bring a unique perspective to her practice.

Kat received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular biology with a concentration on biomathematics, bioinformatics, and computational biology from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the Whiting School of Engineering. Her research centered around computational modeling of disease risk, computational cancer biology, and machine learning, and her thesis focused on modeling the mechanics of human pancreatic cancer—including the role of small molecules as potential treatment options. As an undergraduate, Kat’s research focused on biochemistry and genetics working to develop high yielding and stress resistant crops. Kat’s research has been published in several peer-reviewed journals including Cancer Research and Genome Medicine and she has presented at numerous national and international conferences.

While pursuing her Ph.D., Kat co-founded a biotech startup where she was responsible for aspects of intellectual property licensing negotiation, novelty determination and competitive market analysis, stakeholder engagement, and business plan development.