Stites & Harbison, PLLC

Mandy Wilson Decker is a Life Sciences Patent Attorney and is a member of the Intellectual Property & Technology Service Group.  Her practice focuses on patent-related aspects of intellectual property, including patent drafting, patent prosecution and counseling clients on infringement, validity and patentability.  Contributing to her practice is a scientific background in chemistry and experience with academic and commercial research in the areas of biochemistry, biotechnology and pharmaceutical sciences.

Recent Assignments

• Counseled Technology Transfer and Licensing Offices of various Universities regarding strategies for protecting patent-based intellectual property
• Prepared and prosecuted patent applications in a wide variety of chemical, biochemical, biotechnological and mechanical arts derived from both academic and commercial research

Recent Speaking Engagements and Publications

• "Mutant court case? The uncertain future of innovation for DNA-based technologies, from diagnosis to vaccine production tools," Medical News, May 2010
• "Update:  Therapeutic Discovery Project Tax Credit Program - New Information Released May 21, 2010," Stites & Harbison Client Alert, May 21, 2010
• "Patent law - basics and strategies," Entrepreneurial Workshop 2010, Louisville, Ky., May 20, 2010
• "Biotechnology companies receive R&D incentive from Health Care Reform, including tax credit and grant program for qualified therapeutic discovery projects," Stites & Harbison Client Alert, April 29, 2010
• "Intellectual Property, Business Bootcamp," Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences (OVALS) Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY, April 2010
• Facilitator, "Biotechnology and Life Sciences Patent Prosecution Special Interest Group," Association of University Technology Managers Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 2010
• Author, "Life Sciences Technology: Ten Intellectual Property Issues to Consider," Medical News, Louisville, KY, May 2009
• Co-moderator, "The Developing Landscape of Biotechnology Patent Law," Association of University Technology Managers Annual Meeting, Orlando, Fla., February 2009
• "Protecting Your Ideas," Kentucky Innovation & Enterprise Conference, Lexington, KY, April 2008
• Panelist for Intellectual Property and Marketing 101, Business Bootcamp / Ohio Valley Affiliates for Life Sciences, Louisville, KY, April 2008
• Moderator for Biotechnology Panel, Law Ethics and Life Sciences Conference, Louisville, KY, October 2007
• "Leveraging and Protecting Intellectual Property," SBIR/STTR National Conference, Small Business Research Institute and Small Business Technology Transfer, Louisville, KY, May 2006
• "IP Update: The Plain English News You Can Use," Association of University Technology Managers, Graduate Course, Tempe, AZ, November 2004
• "Key Business Topics: Intellectual Property," Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR) Conference (SWIFT), Louisville, KY, September 2004
• "Intellectual Property Basics," Center for Higher Education Law, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, February 2004
• Wilson, M.V., "Pharmaceutical Patent Protection: More Generic Favored Legislation May Cause Pioneer Drug Companies to Pull the Plug on Innovation," 90 Kentucky Law Journal 495 (2002)
• Jacobson, E.L., Wilson, M.V., Roberts, M.J., Jacobson, M.K., Abstract, "Functional Pathways of NAD Biosynthesis in Human Skin Fibroblasts and Keratinocytes," 114 Journal of Investigative Dermatology 850, 2000
• Shieh, W.M., Amé, J.-C., Wilson, M.V., Wang, L.-Q., Koh, D., Jacobson, M.K., Jacobson, E.L., "PARP Null Mouse Cells Synthesize ADP-ribose Polymers," 273 Journal of Biological Chemistry 30069, 1998

Before Stites & Harbison

Mandy joined the firm after working as a scientific research associate at the University of Kentucky in laboratories housed in the Advanced Science Technology and Commercialization Center. These labs received substantial funding from the National Institute of Health to conduct cancer research while she was there. Mandy's scientific research experience also involved working with Niadyne, Inc., a biotechnology company involved in the research and development of skin delivery systems and molecules to address various health care needs.

More Than Stites & Harbison

Mandy was named to the "Forty under 40" list by Business First of Louisvillein September 2008. She is a volunteer, member of the Board of Directors, Vice President of Personnel and Chair of the Human Resources Committee for the Crane House, a Louisville organization dedicated to bettering relations between Asia and the United States. She also is a member of the Annual Campaign Committee and is chair of the Associates Campaign committee of the Legal Aid Society and is a member of Kentucky BioAlliance and Young Professionals of Louisville.