About Stephen
Stephen Wellard is a patent agent in our Intellectual Property & Technology Practice Group, based in the San Francisco office. His practice focuses on biotechnology and life sciences intellectual property (IP), including patent prosecution, portfolio development, freedom-to-operate analyses and IP due diligence. Stephen advises biotechnology companies, pharmaceutical organizations and research institutions on innovations spanning cell and gene therapies, CRISPR and genome-editing technologies, antibody therapeutics, biologics and pharmaceutical compositions. He has extensive experience drafting and prosecuting US, Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and foreign patent applications, as well as coordinating global patent strategies aligned with clients’ commercial objectives.
Before entering private practice, Stephen was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University and earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. His scientific background in molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry provides a strong foundation for advising clients on complex biotechnology innovations and IP strategies.
Credentials
Education
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, M.D., 2021
- Pennsylvania State University, B.S., 2013
Admissions
- U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, 2024
Expertise
Services
- Intellectual Property & Technology
Publications & Speaking Engagements
Co-author, “The use of deidentified organ donor testes for research,” Andrology, 2025.
Co-author, “MAP9/MAPH-9 supports axonemal microtubule doublets and modulates motor movement,” Dev Cell, 2024.
Co-author, “PLK1 depletion alters homologous recombination and synaptonemal complex disassembly during spermatogenesis,” Mol Biol Cell, 2022.
Co-author, “Germline DNA replication shapes the recombination landscape in mammals,” Cell, 2021.
Co-author, “Overlapping roles for PLK1 and Aurora A during meiotic centrosome biogenesis in mouse spermatocytes,” EMBO Rep, 2021.
Co-author, “Aurora B and C kinases regulate chromosome desynapsis and segregation during spermatogenesis,” J Cell Sci, 2020.
Co-author, “A seminiferous tubule squash technique for cytological analysis of spermatogenesis in mouse,” J Vis Exp, 2018.