Kendra Cann joins Smart & Biggar

Kendra Cann’s practice focusses on assisting clients with obtaining patents in Canada in the areas of life sciences, biotechnology, medical diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals. This includes filing and prosecuting patents with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, as well as providing clients with opinions on freedom to operate and patent validity. Kendra also advises clients on regulatory matters related to patent listings with Health Canada, data protection, and the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board.

Kendra carried out her doctoral research at the Manitoba Institute of Cell Biology at CancerCare Manitoba and her post-doctoral research at Dalhousie University. This research focussed on the cellular response to DNA damage, including the effects of ionizing radiation on the cell cycle and the organization of chromosomes and subnuclear structures in mammalian cells. In carrying out her research, Kendra developed extensive technical expertise in molecular biology, genetics, protein biology, cell biology (including toxicity assays), immunocytochemistry, and the development of transgenic and knock-out/ knock-down mice.

During her postdoctoral work at Dalhousie University, Kendra held a prestigious Izaak Walton Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship from 2009-2011.  While pursuing her Ph.D. studies, she held a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Scholarship (2000-2002), and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Canada Graduate Scholarship-Doctoral Award (2003-2006).

During her legal studies, Kendra was a recipient of the Law Society of Upper Canada Award for Outstanding Achievement in Legal Studies in 2014. She also acted as a teaching assistant for the first year legal research course at the University of Ottawa during both the second and third years of her law degree.