Jane Kuzelka, PhD

Jane brings knowledge and experience in multiple technologies to assist clients in patent portfolio management and strategy

Jane Kuzelka, PhD, focuses her practice on patent drafting and prosecution in the chemical sciences, with a particular emphasis on small molecule pharmaceuticals.  She also has extensive experience with agricultural, cosmetic, peptide, and biofuel-based technologies.  Jane works closely with her clients to develop and manage patent portfolio strategies, and assists with due diligence and freedom to operate analyses.

 Jane’s technical background includes both synthetic chemistry and biochemistry.  She earned her doctoral degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where her research focused on synthesizing small molecule model compounds of metalloenzymes.  Jane then worked as a postdoctoral fellow at The Scripps Research Institute, studying the use of virus particles as polyvalent display platforms.  She further expanded her technical skills at Calmune Corporation, where she used phage display to identify novel human antibodies against a variety of infectious disease and oncology targets.

Prior to joining McNeill PLLC, Jane was a patent agent for over 7 years at Morrison Foerster LLP, where she developed her patent prosecution and counseling skills.

Select Publications

“Polyvalent Display of Heme on Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Protein through Coordination to Hexa(Histidine) Tags,” Chem. Biol. 15: 513-519, 2008 (coauthor).

“Synthesis and Characterization of Cu2(I,I), Cu2(I,II), and Cu2(II,II) Compounds Supported by Two Phthalazine-Based Ligands: Influence of a Hydrophobic Pocket,” Inorg. Chem. 43: 1751-1761, 2004 (coauthor).

“Modeling the Syn Disposition of Nitrogen Donors at the Active Sites of Carboxylate-Bridged Diiron Enzymes. Enforcing Dinuclearity and Kinetic Stability with a 1,2-Diethynylbenzene-Based Ligand,” Inorg. Chem. 42: 8652-8662, 2003 (coauthor).

“Modeling Features of the Non-Heme Diiron Cores in O2-Activating Enzymes through the Synthesis, Characterization, and Oxidation of 1,8-Naphthyridine-Based Complexes,” Inorg. Chem. 42: 6447-6457, 2003 (coauthor).

“Carboxylate-Bridged Diiron(II) Complexes with  a Sterically Hindered Phthalazine Ligand,” Inorg. Chim. Acta 337: 212-222, 2002 (coauthor).