Amanda Walker Smith PhD

Patent Agent

678-771-7786

Biography

Amanda has been with MCC since 2014, starting as a scientific advisor and becoming a patent agent upon passing the U.S. Patent Office registration exam in 2015. She currently focuses on patent preparation, patent prosecution, and IP portfolio strategy. Her core technical areas are medical devices, diagnostics, biomaterials, biotechnology, and garments. Prior to becoming a patent agent, Amanda spent ten years in academic research, studying regenerative biomaterials and stem cell biology. Over the course of her research career, she published several peer-reviewed manuscripts, acquired extramural funding, delivered podium presentations, and collaborated with physician scientists to help translate therapies from the lab bench to the clinic. Before her research career, she evaluated the patentability of medical implants as a U.S. Patent Office examiner. Her prosecution experience, technical expertise, and work with the U.S. Patent Office are all valuable assets to her clients.

Education

Vanderbilt University, B.E., Biomedical Engineering, magna cum laude

Washington University, PhD, Biomedical Engineering

Emory University, Post-doctoral training

Georgia State University, J.D. (expected 2025)

Admissions

  • U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

  • Practice Areas

  • Technologies

  • Publications & Presentations

    • Agarwal, U., Smith, A.W., French, K.M., Boopathy, A.V., George, A., Trac, D., Brown, M.E., Shen, M., Jiang, R., Fernandez, J.D., Kogon, B.E., Kanter, K.R., Alsoufi, B., Wagner, M.B., Platt, M.O., Davis, M.E. Age-Dependant Effect of Pediatric Cardiac Progenitor Cells After Juvenile Heart Failure. Stem Cells Translational Medicine. 2016; 5(7): 847-979.

    • Boopathy, A.V., Martinez, M.D., Smith, A.W., Brown, M.E., Garcia, A.J., Davis, M.E. Intramyocardial Delivery of Notch Ligand-Containing Hydrogels Improves Cardiac Function and Angiogenesis Following Infarction. Tissue Eng Part A. 2015. (In press).

    • McCreedy, D.A., Wilems, T.S., Xu, H., Butts, J.C., Brown, C.R., Smith, A.W., Sakiyama-Elbert, S.E. Survival, differentiation, and migration of high purity mouse embryonic stem cell-derived progenitor motor neurons in fibrin scaffolds after sub-acute spinal cord injury. Biomaterials Science. 2014; 2: 1672-1682.

    • Smith, A.W., Hoyne, J.D., Nguyen, P.K., McCreedy, D.A., Aly, H. Efimov, I.R., Rentschler, S., Elbert, D.L. Direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts to cardiomyocyte-like cells using Yamanaka factors on engineered poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels. Biomaterials. 2013; 34: 6559-6571.

    • Nguyen, P.K., Snyder, C.G., Shields, J.D., Smith, A.W., Elbert, D.L. Clickable Poly- (ethylene glycol) Microsphere Based Cell Scaffolds. Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics. 2013; 8: 948-956.

    • Smith, A.W., Segar, C.E., Nguyen, P.K., MacEwan, M.R., Efimov, I.R., Elbert, D.L. Long-term culture of HL-1 cardiomyocytes in modular poly(ethylene glycol) microsphere-based scaffolds crosslinked in the phase-separated state. Acta Biomaterialia. 2012; 8: 31-40.

    • Weiner, A.A., Moore, M.C., Walker, A.H., Shastri, V.P. Modulation of protein release from photocrosslinked networks by gelatin microparticles. Int. J. Pharmaceutics. 2008; 360: 1007-114

    • Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERMIS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. 2013. Smith, A.W. et al. Direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts to cardiomyocyte-like cells using Yamanaka factors on engineered poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels.

    • Georgia Bio Life Sciences Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. 2013. Smith, A.W. et al. Direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts to cardiomyocyte-like cells using Yamanaka factors on engineered poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels.

    • Gordon Conference: Signal Transduction in Engineered Extracellular Matrices in Biddeford, Maine. 2012. Smith, A.W., et al. Fine-tuning porous PEG hydrogels for direct reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts to cardiovascular cells.

    • Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERMIS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Houston, Texas. 2011. Smith, A.W. et al. Porous poly(ethylene glycol) microsphere-based scaffolds crosslinked around cells while phase separated in dextran solutions exhibit improved elastic properties and enable long term culture of HL-1 cardiomyocytes.

    • Society for Biomaterials Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. 2010. Smith, A.W., et al. Production of Highly Porous Bioactive Hydrogels by Self-Assembly of Phase Separated Poly(ethylene glycol) Microspheres in the Presence of Cells.

  • Membership & Affiliations

    • Georgia Bio
    • Women in Bio
    • Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society: Commercialization Thematic Working Group

  • Honors & Awards

    • TI:GER Entrepreneurship Fellowship, Georgia Institute of Technology School of Management
    • Predoctoral Fellowship, American Heart Association
    • National Merit Scholarship, Vanderbilt University