Our Attorneys

"The Role of Protein Methylation in growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a disruption mutant of SAH1." Ph.D Dissertation, University at Buffalo/SUNY Graduate School, December 2007.

Other pending journal article(s) based on doctoral research.

Professional Summary

Dr. DeShield's practice encompasses the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in the chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences. In addition, Dr. DeShield will undertake intellectual property litigation including but not limited to patent infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets.

Dr. DeShield's graduate work involved the creation of deletion mutants to assess the role of protein methylation in cell division. Dr. DeShield's work showed novel relationships between overall protein synthesis and protein methylation and the effect of protein and RNA methylation on the cell cycle and cell state. Other graduate work included research with muscular dystrophy, angiogenesis and tumor perpetuation, the cardiology of fruit flies and the creation of cDNA libraries. Dr. DeShield's organic chemistry undergraduate research centered on isolating and characterizing flavanoids from South American ferns and exploring the electrochemistry of certain inorganic compounds.

Dr. DeShield's most relevant scientific and legal expertise includes research and teaching assistantship positions in the departments of Biological Sciences and Biochemistry at the University at Buffalo and work as a legal, scientific and bio-marketing research analyst with a Buffalo-based bio-marketing and consultant firm. Dr. DeShield has done some private independent patent research and consulting for clients such as Cipher Genomics and an independent Intellectual Property practitioner. Dr. DeShield also completed an internship as a New York State Bar Association fellow at the New York State Attorney General's Environmental Bureau in Buffalo, NY. Dr. DeShield was a Schomburg Fellow while completing his doctoral studies in the Biochemistry Department and was awarded an Excellence in Teaching Award by the Upward Bound Math and Science Program of the Research Foundation during the same period. As an undergrad, Dr. DeShield was a recipient of both the A.R.Smith Excellence in Chemistry Award and the Ida Leadbetter Excellence in Biology Award at Appalachian State University.

Dr. DeShield received his Juris Doctorate from the University at Buffalo in 2007. Dr. DeShield was a Law School Dean's Scholar throughout law school and a two-time winner of a competitive Phillips Lytle Law Firm Scholarship. Dr. DeShield completed several research assistantships in Intellectual Property Law at and co-authored a publication dealing with anti-trusts ramifications for BioPatent Pools. Dr. DeShield was a member of the Black, Latino and Asian Law Students' Associations, the Intellectual Property and Environmental Law Associations, and a past Treasurer of the African Graduate Students' Association.

Dr. DeShield is a member of the AIPLA Biotechnology Committee, the Biotech Committee of the American Bar Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Technology, and a former member of the Niagara Frontier IP Association.