*Dr. Yunck is not licensed to practice law. Her activities are directly supervised by members of the firm licensed to practice law.
As Patent Agent on the Intellectual Property team, Dr. Rachel Yunck uses her background in biotechnology to provide ongoing guidance and support to her clients.
Rachel has experience in a range of disciplines relating to biotechnology, including microbiology, molecular biology, genetics, cancer therapeutics, immunotherapies, diagnostics and biomarkers, CRISPR, antibodies, and plant technology. Rachel works directly with clients to evaluate and manage their patent portfolios and has experience preparing and prosecuting patent applications with the USPTO and foreign jurisdictions.
Prior to joining the firm, Rachel obtained her PhD from Harvard Medical School where she worked with Dr. Tom Bernhardt studying cell wall biogenesis in bacteria. Using a variety of genetic, biochemical, and structural approaches, Rachel identified bacterial cell wall enzymes that could serve as potential antibiotic targets. Through this work, she discovered and characterized a family of previously unknown cell wall hydrolases that are broadly conserved in bacteria.
Publications
- Yunck R, Cho H, Bernhardt TG., Identification of M1tG as a potential terminase for peptidoglycan polymerization in bacteria. Mol Microbiol. (2015). 99(4): 700-718
- Tsui HCT, Zheng JJ, Magallon AN, Ryan JD, Yunck R, Rued BE, Bernhardt, TG, Winkler ME. Suppression of a deletion mutation in the gene encoding essential PBP2b reveals a new lytic transglycosylase involved in peripheral peptidoglycan synthesis in Streptococcus pneumoniae D39. Mol Microbiol. (2016). 100 (6): 1039-1065.
Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Prosecuted patent applications relating to clinical stage antibody product for pharmaceutical company.
- Helped develop patent portfolio for start-up client relating to agricultural technologies.
- Prepared and prosecuted domestic and foreign patent applications related to antimicrobials, cancer therapeutics, immunotherapies, and diagnostic biomarkers.
