Christensen, Rebecca S.

Maya Elbert's practice is focused on patent prosecution and transactional work in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. Maya has experience in preparation and prosecution of domestic and international patent applications, performing legal research and analysis, conducting prior art searches, preparation of patent validity and noninfringement opinions, and assisting in due diligence investigations and freedom-to-operate analysis.

Maya's scientific experience encompasses the fields of cell biology, molecular biology, biochemistry, and developmental biology. Her doctoral thesis focused on signaling pathways involved in the regulation of cell polarity. Specifically, her research addressed the signaling events downstream of Par-1, an evolutionary conserved "master signaling protein," in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and MDCK cells, a model of mammalian kidney epithelia. Maya has published her findings in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has presented at national and international conferences.

Maya is a member of the American Bar Association and the American Intellectual Property Law Association.