Lin Ao, Ph.D.

Lin has experience drafting and prosecuting patent applications, managing and counseling clients on large global portfolios, conducting freedom-to-operate analyses, performing competitive landscape evaluations, and providing patentability, validity, and infringement opinions. Her practice further extends to assisting with post-grant proceedings, including inter partes reviews (IPRs), before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Lin has a wide range of scientific research expertise, most notably in the areas of cancer biology, immuno-oncology, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical sciences. Prior to joining Finnegan, Lin completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, where she investigated epigenetic factors important for establishing the tumor immune microenvironment in melanoma using CRISPR screening. Following her postdoctoral training, Lin held a business development and licensing associated position in the Dana-Farber Innovation Office, where she performed due diligence on the commercialization potential of technologies and led internal and external marketing efforts to promote research discoveries.