Tambryn K. VanHeyningen, Ph.D., Partner

Tammy VanHeyningen, Ph.D., is a partner and registered patent attorney in the Intellectual Property Group. Her practice includes all areas of intellectual property counseling, with a focus on domestic and international patent prosecution, strategic patent portfolio development, licensing, non-infringement and invalidity opinions, and freedom-to-operate advice. Her technology concentrations are in biotechnology, biologics & pharmaceuticals.

Tammy’s experience includes:

• Drafting and prosecuting patents with an emphasis in life sciences, chemistry and biotechnology
• Patent applications related to vaccines, antibodies, protein therapeutics, gene therapy compositions, cell and tissue cultures including tissue replacement or regeneration, siRNA, microRNAs, small molecule or biologic pharmaceuticals
• Plant patents, Plant Variety Protection
• Medical diagnostics including genomic or proteomic markers predictive of therapeutic response, prognosis or metastases, biologic assays
• Research tools including cloning vectors, compositions and methods for labeling, detecting or isolating bio-molecules
• Genetically engineered plants, animals and microorganisms
• Treatment methods, including delivery methods
• Bio-processing and bio-fuels
• Food science and processing

Tammy's clients include university technology transfer offices, small start-ups, and large research companies. She has more than 10 years of experience as a research scientist working in the fields of microbiology, immunology, and mechanisms of disease. Her Ph.D. thesis research was directed to understanding the T cell and macrophage mediated immune response to mycobacteria. She also completed post-doctoral research developing a transgenic mouse model and recombinant herpes simplex viruses to investigate viral latency and reactivation. She taught college-level courses in virology, genetics and molecular biology.

Tammy is recognized in the IAM Patent 1000 as a top patent practitioner in Wisconsin. She has authored several scientific research articles and written and presented on many aspects of intellectual property law.