Andrew Murtha focuses his practice on patent drafting and prosecution, with an emphasis on molecular biology, immunology, and food + Agriculture.
Prior to joining MoFo, Andrew earned his Ph.D. in microbiology from Cornell University, with minors in biochemistry and immunology. He was a graduate research assistant in the Dörr Laboratory in Ithaca, New York, where his research focused on pathogenic bacteria and molecular pathways for determining resistance and susceptibility to antimicrobial compounds. While in graduate school, he also conducted a laboratory project related to optimizing the delivery of genes via CRISPR-Cas-guided transposons and evaluated efficiency of novel natural food preservatives to prevent spoilage. Andrew was also a licensing intern for the Center for Technology Licensing at Cornell University, evaluating patentability and prior art landscapes as well as performing due diligence on novel small molecule therapeutics, chemical synthesis techniques, agricultural devices, and other technologies.