Kelsey W. Pitts is an associate in Sterne Kessler’s Biotechnology & Chemical Practice Group. Her practice focuses on the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications. She also assists with the preparation of opinions of counsel, including patentability, non-infringement, invalidity, and freedom-to-operate analyses. Kelsey’s technical areas of expertise include genetics, recombinant DNA technology, cellular and molecular biology, and immunology.
Prior to joining Sterne Kessler, Kelsey was a patent agent and paralegal at an IP firm, where she assisted with the preparation and prosecution of a wide variety of utility and design patents. She also worked for several years as a research assistant with the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). At UMSOM, Kelsey designed and conducted proof-of-concept and validation studies for the development of a dendritic cell-based personalized cancer vaccine.
Kelsey received her J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. in Biology, with a focus on Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, from Washington University in St. Louis. While attending law school, Kelsey served as a staff editor for the Georgetown Law Technology Review. As an undergraduate student, Kelsey’s research focused on the characterization of a novel gene in T. thermophila, and she presented her research at the Washington University Undergraduate Research Symposium.
- J.D., Georgetown University Law Center
- B.A., Biology – Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Washington University in St. Louis
- United States Patent & Trademark Office
- District of Columbia