Emily R. Forster

Emily is a patent agent supporting the Intellectual Property practice and Life Sciences industry team. She helps life sciences innovators protect and evaluate intellectual property involving complex biological technologies. With a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology and a research background spanning microbiology, chemical biology, immunology, and cancer therapeutics, she brings a scientist’s perspective to patent prosecution and intellectual property strategy. Emily assists with drafting and prosecuting U.S. and foreign patent applications, evaluating patentability and freedom to operate, and conducting intellectual property due diligence.

Emily’s technical background enables her to quickly understand sophisticated scientific concepts and translate them into clear, strategically focused patent positions. Her doctoral research at Tufts University examined Clostridioides difficile, including the use of chemical proteomics to identify bile acid-binding proteins and the role of protein-protein interactions in bacterial spore germination. As an undergraduate researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she studied Listeria monocytogenes as a platform for cancer immunotherapy, engineering bacteria to secrete inflammasome inhibitor proteins within host cells to promote T-cell responses to tumor antigens.

This combination of hands-on scientific research and patent experience gives Emily insight into both the technical details underlying an invention and the broader intellectual property considerations surrounding its development. She approaches matters with analytical rigor and an appreciation for the scientific objectives behind a client’s technology, helping clients assess patent protection, competitive landscapes, and intellectual property considerations as innovations move forward.

Emily has presented her scientific research at U.S. and international conferences focused on microbiology and immunology and has authored or co-authored research published in ACS Chemical Biology, PLoS Genetics, PLoS Pathogens, PLoS Biology, Biochemical Journal, and Cell. During her doctoral studies, she also mentored undergraduate researchers through the Tufts University Pathway to the Ph.D. program and helped organize the annual Boston Bacterial Meeting.