Skip to main content
Home
Home

Courtney M. Prochnow, Ph.D.

Profile photo for Courtney Prochnow
Profile photo for Courtney Prochnow
Partner

Courtney M. Prochnow, Ph.D.

  • Los Angeles
Print bio

Courtney provides clients with a broad range of intellectual property services, including patent procurement, strategic patent counseling, and due diligence.

Dr. Courtney Prochnow focuses her practice on biotechnology. Courtney has represented clients in patent litigation cases in district court, and inter partes review, reexamination, and interference proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office. She has assisted clients in a variety of technological areas including antibody therapeutics, genome editing (e.g., CRISPR/Cas systems), chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, small molecule and nucleic acid therapeutics, vaccines, recombinant proteins, genetic diagnostic methods, and chemical synthesis. Representative clients include start-up companies, private and public research institutions, biotech companies, and large pharmaceutical companies.

Courtney was trained as a structure biologist. She has scientific experience in a wide range of fields, including x-ray crystallography, drug discovery, DNA mutagenesis, biochemistry, virology, and cell biology. Her technical experience includes molecular techniques such as recombinant protein purification, cloning, cell culture, biochemical assays, and high-throughput compound screening.

For her dissertation research at the University of Southern California, Courtney solved the first x-ray crystal structure of a member of the apolipoprotein B messenger RNA-editing enzyme catalytic (APOBEC) polypeptides family of enzymes, which are involved in viral restriction and antibody diversification. Her post-doctoral research involved designing small molecules to disrupt the APOBEC3G/VIF (Viral Infectivity Factor) interaction for HIV therapy using structure-based drug design. She also performed a structural analysis of the antiviral APOBEC3G cytidine deaminase to determine its functional properties. Courtney has eight peer-reviewed publications, including two first author publications in Nature.

Courtney is a writer for Life Science Legal Report, the firm's blog focused on patent decisions and developments affecting the life sciences industry.

Education & Credentials

Education

  • Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, J.D., Research Editor, International and Comparative Law Review, 2013
  • University of Southern California, Ph.D., Molecular Biology
  • University of Colorado Boulder, B.A., Biology

Bar and Court Admissions

  • California
  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
  • U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

Related Employment

  • Perkins Coie LLP, Los Angeles, CA, Scientific Advisor, 2012-2013; Summer Associate, 2012
  • University of Southern California, Department of Molecular and Computational Biology, Los Angeles, CA, Post-Doctoral Research Associate, 2008-2012
  • University of Southern California, Department of Molecular and Computational Biology, Los Angeles, CA, Ph.D Candidate, 2004-2008
  • Dakota Ridge Veterinary Clinic, Littleton, CO, Veterinary Technician
Home
Jump back to top