Melissa’s practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of US and international patent applications. A registered patent attorney, Melissa has managed patent portfolios involving a wide range of technologies, including biofuels, personalized medicine, cancer therapeutics, tissue grafts, biological products, immunology, plant biotechnology, and stem cells.

Her experience includes preparing freedom to operate and patentability reports for biotechnology and pharmaceutical clients, conducting due diligence and evaluating patent portfolios in preparation for capital investment, preparing memoranda on inventorship, and interviewing cases at the USPTO. Prior to joining Mintz, she was an associate in the San Diego office of another international law firm.

Before she earned her law degree, Melissa was a postdoctoral fellow at UC San Diego, where she studied the regulation of hypothalamic GnRH neurons by steroid hormones. Her PhD thesis was titled, “Progesterone Regulation of the Human MUC1 Gene in Uterine Epithelial Cells.” She also earned an MBA with a concentration in new venture creation.

In addition to her intellectual property practice, Melissa has an active pro bono practice, and has worked on a number of immigration cases for pro bono clients.