Mona Malik

Mona Malik, Ph.D., B.Sc.

Senior Technical Advisor & Patent Agent

200 West Madison Street
Suite 2700
Chicago, Illinois 60606

Dr. Mona Malik is a patent agent and senior technical advisor with more than a decade of experience as a law practitioner in intellectual property. Earlier in her career, Mona was a scientist for a dozen years raising to the faculty level at the University of Pennsylvania. Mona provides scientific and legal experience in litigations involving pharmaceutical products. She was involved in Hatch-Waxman litigations for Boniva, Actonel, Megace, Zometa, Reclast and Treanda to name a few. Mona’s other areas of focus include patent prosecution, due diligence assessment and freedom to operate analysis in areas such as pharmaceuticals, cellular biology and botany. She also supports clients in other science-related fields such as advising Biotechnology Companies on potential investment or growth opportunities. The scope of Mona’s work includes cancer therapy immunology/immunotherapy, biochemistry, pharmacology, virology, oncology, plant sciences and agriculture.

Mona Malik earned a PhD from the University of Cambridge after investigating complex mechanisms of chromosomal gene recombination and gene replacement.  As a faculty member and research associate at the University of Pennsylvania working in the Department of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care at the School of Medicine, she investigated the biochemistry of intracellular signaling pathways in mononuclear phagocytes and uncovered a novel mechanism of monocyte infiltration in the central nervous system of HIV-infected patients. Mona’s work in the fields of immunology, anti-cancer therapy and HIV-treatment was published in leading scientific journals.

Her work as a postdoctoral research associate at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital focused on various mechanisms responsible for cell cycle regulation and the repair of DNA lesions induced by anti-cancer therapy. Mona played a critical role in research for the advancement of cancer therapies. She defined the function of the Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase enzyme in the repair of DNA-damage induced by DNA Topoisomerase II inhibitors, an important class of anti-cancer drugs. Her work was seminal in the further development of DNA assays to possibly use mutations of the gene Tyrosyl-DNA Phosphodiesterase 1 as a potential biomarker in cancer therapy.

Mona’s undergraduate degree is in arid-zone agriculture. She concentrated on plant breeding and genetics and developed improved wheat varieties. Mona also studied food technology, soil sciences, plant pathology, animal husbandry, agronomy, entomology and horticulture.

Professional History

  • Patent Agent, Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP, 2015-present
  • Technical Advisor & Patent Agent, Husch Blackwell LLP, 2009-15
  • Faculty Member and Research Associate, University of Pennsylvania, Department of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care at the School of Medicine, 2006-09
  • Postdoctoral Research Assistant, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Department of Molecular Pharmacology, 2000-06

Credentials

Education
  • University of Cambridge (UK), Ph.D., Genetics, 1999
  • University of Agriculture, B.S., Agriculture, with honors, 1994
Awards & Distinctions

American Association for Cancer Research, Pfizer Scholar in Cancer Research Award, 2001

 

British Federation of Women Graduates Award, 1998-99

 

Charles Wallace Trust Award, 1998-99

 

Raymond and Beverly Sackler Award, 1997-98

Bar Admissions

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2012 (Registration Number: 69135)

Memberships & Affiliations

Cambridge Commonwealth Society, Fellow

 

University of Cambridge Alumni Association, Life Member