Helen Baca

510-663-1100
Helen Baca focuses on IP portfolio management, strategic client counseling, and patent prosecution in diverse scientific and engineering fields. She has experience in performing portfolio audits, preparing and prosecuting patent applications, and advising on patent infringement, freedom-to-operate, validity, and inventorship issues. Areas of expertise include advanced chemical and biological materials, small molecule and protein therapeutics, nucleic acid and peptide technology, drug formulations, drug delivery systems, drug discovery platforms, microfluidics, droplet-based systems, medical devices, memristors, photonic systems, and microresonators.
Dr. Baca received her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh, School of Law, and her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in the Department of Chemistry. Her graduate research was interdisciplinary and led to the development of a droplet-based microfluidic platform for performing biological and chemical reactions.
Prior to joining WAVS IP, Dr. Baca was Senior Intellectual Property/Patent Counsel at Sandia National Laboratories and an Associate at Clark & Elbing, LLP.
Representative Publications:
- Song H, Chen DL, and Ismagilov RF, “Reactions in droplets in microfluidic channels,” Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 2006; 45: 7336.
- Song H, Bringer MR, Gerdts CJ, and Ismagilov RF, “Experimental test of scaling of mixing by chaotic advection in droplets moving through microfluidic channels,” Applied Physics Letters 2003; 83:4664.
- Song H and Ismagilov RF, “Millisecond kinetics on a microfluidic chip using nanoliters of reagents,” Journal of the American Chemical Society 2003; 125: 14613.
- Song H, Tice JD, and Ismagilov RF, “A microfluidic system for controlling reaction networks in time,” Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 2003; 42: 768.
*Not admitted to California State Bar.

510-663-1100
Education:
- B.S. in Chemistry, University of Chicago
- Ph.D. in Chemistry, University of Chicago
- J.D. University of Pittsburgh, School of Law
Bar Admissions:
- Massachusetts State Bar*
- New Mexico State Bar*
- U.S. Patent Bar
Services:
- IP Portfolio Development
- Reexaminations & Reissues
- Analyses of Competitor & Target IP
- Licensing & Other IP Sharing Arrangements
- Invalidity and Noninfringement Opinions
Technical Expertise:
- Chemistry & Materials
- Life Sciences
- Pharmaceuticals & Biologics
- Microfludics
- Nanotechnology