Ms. McDowell graduated from Westminster College (Westminster, PA), magna cum laude, in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, from the University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, PA), magna cum laude, in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering, and from George Washington University (Washington, DC), with honors, with a Juris Doctor degree in 1987.

Ms. McDowell was employed with IBM Corporation from 1981 to 1987. She initially worked as a semiconductor manufacturing process engineer in a research department that developed new photolithography and etching processes for implementation in a manufacturing environment. While working as an engineer, Ms. McDowell presented a paper at the Kodak Microelectronics Seminar in San Diego, CA on reactive ion etching of chromium photomasks. Ms. McDowell subsequently was selected by corporate management for IBM’s corporate patent attorney training program, and worked in the IBM Patent Department as a registered patent agent while attending law school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

After leaving IBM, Ms. McDowell held associate and of counsel positions in the Intellectual Property Law Group of the firm of Foley & Lardner for sixteen years, where she participated in the training of junior associates and developed extensive knowledge in handling administrative matters before the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Ms. McDowell also served of counsel to the firm of Rossi & Associates for several years prior to becoming a founding partner of the firm of Rossi, Kimms & McDowell LLP.

Ms. McDowell’s fields of technical expertise include biotechnology, bioinformatics (which utilizes computer analysis of biological data to identify new drugs or treatments), pharmaceuticals, immunochemistry (especially vaccines and antibody therapies), molecular biology, small molecules, combinatorial chemistry, and nanotechnology for drug delivery. She also is skilled in the areas of semiconductors, superconductors, semiconductor manufacturing techniques, magnetic and magneto-optic recording media, polymer chemistry, photochemistry, and electrochemistry.

Ms. McDowell has extensive experience in all phases of intellectual property law practice, including patent preparation and prosecution, licensing and development agreements, infringement and validity analysis, and due diligence practice. She also is experienced in international patent procurement practice, including drafting, prosecuting, and managing patent applications filed outside the U.S.

Ms. McDowell has also assisted in handling litigation matters related to validity and infringement. Ms. McDowell is currently a member in good standing of the Virginia Bar, is registered to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office as a Registered Patent Attorney and is admitted to practice before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.