Carmela is a lawyer and registered patent agent in Canada and the United States and practices in all areas of intellectual property, focusing on patent matters, particularly for life science companies.
She advises clients on strategic global aspects of obtaining and managing patent portfolios, as well as in the preparation and procurement of patents and industrial designs. She works closely with clients including start-ups, universities as well as multinationals in preparing and prosecuting patent applications relating to biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, biologics, diagnostics, green technologies and other areas in the life sciences. Carmela is also active in the analysis of patent issues such as validity, infringement and freedom to operate.
While obtaining her Ph.D. from McGill University, Carmela conducted research in the areas of inflammation, signal transduction and virology. Prior to earning a law degree, Carmela worked as a post-doctoral fellow at a research institute of an international biotechnology company where her research focused on cancer cell biology, genetic engineering, genetic screens and genomics. Her educational and research background provides her with a depth of knowledge and experiences to assist her clients in a wide range of cutting-edge technologies.
Carmela is the founding and Emeritus Co-chair and steering committee member of the Greater Montréal Chapter of Women in Bio (WIB). She is also a committee member of the Excellence in Canadian Board Governance committee, which aims to increase diversity in Life Science Boards. She has been a faculty member of the Intellectual Property Institute of Canada’s (IPIC) Patent Drafting Course and regularly presents at the IPIC/McGill Summer Course. She is actively involved in supporting entrepreneurs and regularly lectures on the fundamentals of IP. Additionally, Carmela is a member of the Advisory Board of the Clinical Innovation Platform (CLIP) of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre ( 2021-2023 and 2024-2026 terms).