Yifan Mao is an associate and registered patent attorney at Kilpatrick Townsend, a multi-practice international law firm. She focuses on patent counselling, prosecution, and due diligence matters for clients in life sciences industries. She held various research positions at Genentech and Genencor International prior to her legal career. Mao obtained her BS in microbiology from Wuhan University, her MS in biochemistry from Michigan State University, and her JD from Santa Clara University School of Law. Mao was recognised as a Northern California Rising Star in 2018 for intellectual property by Super Lawyers magazine.