Samantha Keyport Kik, Ph.D.
Samantha Keyport Kik Ph.D., focuses her practice on patent prosecution in the biotechnology and life sciences sectors. She counsels clients across the full patent lifecycle, including drafting and prosecution of patent applications, inventorship analyses, portfolio management, intellectual property (IP) due diligence, initial public offering opinions, and patentability and freedom-to-operate analyses. Her work spans a wide range of technologies, including cell and gene therapies, biologics, cell-based assays, small molecules, gene editing, and other emerging therapeutic modalities. Sammy works with companies at various stages of growth, aligning intellectual property strategies with broader business objectives.
A registered patent agent, Sammy also has experience conducting IP landscape analyses, advising on competitive intelligence to help clients assess risk and identify opportunities in evolving technological spaces, and supporting patent litigation matters through technical and claim-related analyses.
Sammy earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry and her M.S. in genetics, genomics, and systems biology from the University of Chicago, where she examined cellular adaptation to stress using an interdisciplinary approach combining biochemistry, genetics, and computational biology. Her work contributed to the understanding of protein aggregation as an adaptive and conserved response with implications for diseases such as Alzheimer's and ALS. Her findings have been published in peer-reviewed journals and shared at scientific conferences nationwide, where she has won numerous awards for her presentations.
- University of Chicago, 2023, Ph.D., biochemistry and molecular biophysics
- University of Chicago, 2023, M.S., genetics, genomics, and systems biology
- Loyola University Chicago, 2016, B.S., molecular biology, magna cum laude
- US Patent and Trademark Office