Kirsten Weigel-Van Aken

Education

• B.S Pre-Clinical Studies
  University of Heidelberg School of Medicine
• M.D.  University of Heidelberg School of Medicine
• J.D.   cum laude
  University of Florida Levin College of Law
  Managing Editor, Florida Law Review

AREAS OF PRACTICE

• US. and International Patent Procurement and Enforcement Strategy
• Patentability Opinions
• Freedom-to-Operate, Validity, Infringement Opinions

TECHNOLOGY AREAS

• Cell Biology
• Immunology
• Oncology
• Cardiology
• Gene Therapy
• Molecular Biology
• Biotechnology
• Protein Therapeutics
• Nucleic Acid Therapeutics
• Viral and Non-Viral Delivery Systems
• Agricultural Products
• Medical Devices

PRIOR PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Over 10 years of experience as a Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical Patent Attorney at boutique IP law firms
• Assistant Professor, Division of Cellular and Molecular Therapy, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida College of Medicine
• Assistant Scientist, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, and Walther Oncology Center, Indiana University School of Medicine
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Microbiology & Immunology, and Walther Oncology Center, Indiana University School of Medicine

AWARDS AND RECOGNITION

• Research Fellowship of the German Research Foundation
• Certificate in Intellectual Property Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

LANGUAGE CAPABILITIES

• English
• German

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS & ACTIVITIES

• Registered to Practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
• Member, American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy
• Reviewer for Cancer Research, Clinical Cancer Research, Human Gene Therapy, Gene Therapy, Journal of Virology, and PLoS ONE

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Lactic acid induces aberrant amyloid precursor protein processing by promoting its interaction with endoplasmic reticulum chaperone proteins. PLoS ONE: e13820, 2010.
• Pharmacological activation of guanine nucleotide exchange factors for the small GTPase Rap1 recruits high affinity β1 integrins as co-receptors for parvovirus B19: improved ex vivo gene transfer to human erythroid progenitor cells. Hum Gene Ther. 20: 1-14, 2009.
• Tyrosine-phosphorylation of AAV2 vectors and its consequences on viral intracellular trafficking and transgene expression. Virology 381: 194-202, 2008
• α5β1 integrin as a cellular coreceptor for human parvovirus B19: requirement of functional activation of β1 integrin for viral entry. Blood vol. 102 no. 12 3927-3933, 2003.
• Recombinant Human Parvovirus B19 Vectors: Erythrocyte P Antigen Is Necessary but Not Sufficient for Successful Transduction of Human Hematopoietic Cells. J Virol. 75(9): 4110–4116, 2001