As an experienced bench chemist, inventor, and attorney, Rachel applies her knowledge of science and patent law to protect and manage client innovations
Rachel Slade, PhD, focuses her practice on patent prosecution and portfolio management. Rachel has extensive experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications which incorporate a variety of chemical technologies, including novel chemical compounds, small molecule drugs, pharmaceutical formulations, drug delivery technologies, biopolymers, polymers, catalysts, imaging probes, and assay systems. She also has experience performing patentability and freedom-to-operate/clearance analyses and has represented both patent owners and challengers in post-grant proceedings.
Before obtaining her law degree, Rachel worked as a research chemist doing drug discovery for over 10 years, primarily directed toward anticancer, antiviral, and neurological disease targets, and is an inventor on seven patents. This industrial experience has given her an appreciation of the multiple factors involved when evaluating the scientific and business aspects of intellectual property.
Prior to joining McNeill PLLC, Rachel spent over a decade practicing patent law in private practice firm environments, and as an in-house patent counsel at a pharmaceutical company. Her PhD dissertation focused on a radical synthesis of carbacephem antibiotics and the development of cobaloxime-mediated syntheses of substituted maleic anhydride derivatives.
Select Publications
"Genetic Deficiency or Pharmacological Inhibition of Cyclooxygenase-1 or -2 Induces Mouse
Keratinocyte Differentiation in vitro and in vivo," FASEB J, 18(1):185-87 (1998) (coauthor).
"Application of an Almost Traceless Linker to the Synthesis of 2-Alkylthiobenzimidazole
Combinatorial Libraries," Molecular Diversity, 4(4):215-9 (1998) (coauthor).
"Cross-Coupling of Alkyl Cobaloximes with Maleic Anhydrides. Basic Studies and Applications
to the Synthesis of Chaetomellic Acid A Anhydride and C-Glycosyl Maleic Anhydrides,"
Journal of Organic Chemistry, 63(11):3544-49 (1998) (coauthor).
"Oxidative Addition of py(dmgH)2Co-Na+ to a Ribofuranosyl Bromide: An Unusual Reaction
with the Cobaloxime Ligand," Organometallics, 15(11):2585-87 (1996) (coauthor).
"A Cobaloxime-Mediated Synthesis of the Ras Farnesyl-Protein Transferase Inhibitor
Chaetomellic Acid A," Tetrahedron Letters, 35(24):4071-72 (1994) (coauthor).
"A Cobaloxime-Mediated Radical Route to Butenolides" Tetrahedron Letters, 34(49):7885-88
(1993) (coauthor).
Admissions
Utah
District of Columbia
US Patent and Trademark Office
US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
*Not admitted in WI
Education
S.J. Quinney College of Law, JD, 2012
University of Oregon, PhD, Organic Chemistry, 1995
University of Minnesota, BS, Chemistry and BS, Biochemistry, 1989
Select Speaking Engagements
University of Utah, S.J. Quinney College of Law, "Frontiers in Precision Medicine: Exploring Science and Policy Boundaries, Patenting Precision Medicine," Panelist, 2015
Languages
German