Kathleen (Kat) DiNapoli

Kat’s work focuses on patent drafting and prosecution in the fields of life sciences and biotechnology in the US and abroad. She also assists with various diligence projects and conducts freedom to operate and patentability searches. Kat’s multidisciplinary background allows her to interpret several scientific fields, enabling her to operate with a perspective that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Kat received her PhD from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Whiting School of Engineering. Her doctoral research included computational modeling of disease risk, computational cancer biology and machine learning. Her thesis focused on mathematically modeling the mechanics of human pancreatic cancer, including deciphering the role of small molecules as potential treatment options. As an undergraduate at Wake Forest University, Kat interrogated the genetic and biochemical controls of root formation to develop high-yielding/drought-resistant crops. Kat’s work has been published six times in peer-reviewed journals – including Cancer Research and Genome Medicine – and presented at numerous national and international conferences.

While at Johns Hopkins, Kat co-founded a biotech startup where she handled various aspects of intellectual property licensing negotiations, novelty determination/competitive market analysis, stakeholder engagement and business plan development.