I have more than 15 years’ experience in preparing, prosecuting and securing Intellectual Property rights (such as patents, trade marks and designs), in providing IP advice and assisting with IP enforcement. I work with Australian companies and organisations to secure patent rights in Australia and all over the world, and I also prosecute and obtain patents in Australia and New Zealand.I have a particular focus on patents for chemical inventions (including pharmaceutical, agricultural and electro-chemistry, chemical processes and food products), but I also have significant experience in patents for medical devices and treatment methods, and for mechanical and agricultural equipment and devices.I have also worked in technology transfer organisations, serving as UniQuest's Director of IP Management, and also as a commercial analyst for IMBcom.Before becoming a patent and trade mark attorney, my scientific research experience involved heterocyclic, peptide and organometallic chemistry, as well as pharmacology. My PhD concerned developing and extending drug discovery technologies in collaboration with a Queensland biotechnology company and focussed on privileged substructures. This degree was completed at the University of Queensland (Brisbane), and involved research at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, and resulted in a number of publications including a review on Privileged Substructures which has been cited more than 3000 times. My Honours degree involved synthesising and testing the biological activity of a series of conotoxin (conopeptide) derivatives.In the course of my studies, I received numerous awards including a University Medal (University of Queensland), an Australian Bicentennial Scholarship (Menzies Centre for Australian Studies, King’s College, University of London), and prizes for subjects in patent law (Davies Collison Cave prize from the University of Melbourne) and chemistry (Edward Taylor Memorial Prize from the University of Queensland).Specialties: patent drafting, patent and trade mark prosecution, managing patent and trade mark portfolios for clients across multiple jurisdictions, patent oppositions, opinion matters in relation to patents.