Dr Kathryn Sunn

Acting Associate Director
Intellectual Property & Contracts Manager

Biography

Dr Kathryn Sunn is currently the Acting Associate Director and Intellectual Property & Contracts Manager within UWS Innovation, and is located at Parramatta. Kathryn works very closely with academics, active researchers, the Office of Research Services (ORS) and the Office of University Legal Counsel (OULC) to identify potential sources of Intellectual Property (IP) within UWS that may be formally protected, developed and/or commercialised. As the Associate Director, Kathryn is responsible for managing the Innovation strategy of the University and facilitating commercial outcomes from the University Intellectual Property.

Kathryn is a registered Australian & New Zealand Patent & Trade Mark attorney with 10 years experience in preparing and prosecuting patent applications before the intellectual property offices of Australia and New Zealand, and has also coordinated prosecution matters in other jurisdictions.  Kathryn has previously been employed at a top-tier patent firm and also a top-tier law firm (with a patent practice) where she provided expert opinion in due diligence, patentability, opposition and pre-litigation matters and has provided advice on strategies for capturing, protecting, commercializing and enforcing intellectual property rights.

Kathryn also has considerable academic research experience in biochemistry, signal transduction, protein chemistry, gene cloning, gene expression, and transgenics obtained whilst studying and working at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

Kathryn originally trained at the University of Sydney.  She was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Medicine) in 2001 from University of NSW having characterized a protein isoform of the human Vitamin D Receptor.
 

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Areas of Research/Teaching Expertise

Intellectual property, Technology Commercialization, Licensing, Project Management, Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Gene Cloning, Molecular Biology, Nuclear Receptors.

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Awards/Honours

Vice-Chancellor's Award 2010 - Excellence in Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Winner - Innovation Team

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Selected Publications

Journal Articles
Recent research publication.
  • Sunn KL, Eisman JA, Gardiner EM, Jans DA.
    "FRAP analysis of nucleocytoplasmic dynamics of the vitamin D receptor splice variant VDRB1: preferential targeting to nuclear speckles.”
    Biochem J. (2005) Jun 1;388(Pt 2):509-14
  • Sunn KL, Cock T-A, Crofts LA, Eisman JA & Gardiner EM.
    “Novel N-Terminal Variant of Human VDR”
    Molecular Endocrinology (2001) 15:1599-1609
  • Gardiner EM, Baldock P, Thomas GP, Sims NA, Henderson K, Hollis B, White CP, Sunn KL, Morrison NA, Walsh WR, Eisman JA.
    "Increased formation and decreased resorption of bone in mice with elevated vitamin D receptor in mature cells of the osteoblastic lineage "
    FASEB (2000) 14:1908-1916
  • Bradbury RA, Sunn KL, Crossley MC, Bai M, Brown EM, Delbridge L & Conigrave AD. 
    "Expression of the parathyroid Ca2+ sensing receptor in cytotrophoblasts from human term placenta"
    Journal of Endocrinology (1998) 156: 425-430
  • Sims NA, White CP, Sunn KL, Thomas GP, Drummond ML, Morrison NA, Eisman JA & Gardiner EM. 
    "Human and murine osteocalcin gene expression: conserved tissue restricted expression and divergent responses to 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 in vivo"
    Molecular Endocrinology (1997) 11:1695-1708

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Professional Memberships

  • Fellow of Institute of Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA)
  • Member Intellectual Property Society of Australia and New Zealand (IPSANZ)
  • Member of LESANZ (Licensing Executive Society of Australia and New Zealand)

 

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