Katie L. Strong, Ph.D., is a Registered Patent Agent with Knowles Intellectual Properties Strategies (KIPS) in Atlanta, Georgia.  Katie focuses on U.S. and international patent prosecution, patentability and freedom to operate analysis, and due diligence.  Katie’s area of expertise include organic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, nucleoside chemistry, drug design, pharmacology, electrophysiology, anti-viral drugs, and ocular and polymeric formulation. 

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Prior to joining the firm, Katie received her Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Emory University in 2015 under Dr. Dennis C. Liotta, the Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Chemistry. In graduate school, Katie’s research focused on the development and synthesis of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor subunit-selective potentiators to be used as therapeutic probes for the study of schizophrenia and cognitive enhancement.  Katie continued this work during her postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen F. Traynelis at Emory University where she studied how these modulators interact with the NMDA receptor to elicit potentiation.

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During Katie’s time at Emory University, she was also the Assistant Managing Editor of the quarterly American Journal of Bioethics Neuroscience, a Taylor and Francis journal dedicated to publishing articles at the intersection of neuroscience and ethics.  She also acted as the Managing Editor of AJOB Neuroscience’s official blog, The Neuroethics Blog, where she regularly discussed the impact of neuroscience technology on society.  During her tenure as a regular contributor to The Neuroethics Blog, Katie was awarded the First Annual Student International Society for Neuroethics Essay Prize for an essay titled “Exploring Ethical Implications of the Commercialization of Physiological Commuting” in 2014.

Katie was awarded a 2015 American Academy for the Advancement of Society (AAAS) Mass Media Fellowship, an award that was sponsored by the American Chemical Society and featured in Chemical and Engineering News.  As a recipient of this award, she worked as a science writer at the Sacramento Bee in Sacramento, CA researching and reporting science topics for the Sacramento region.

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In 2010, Katie graduated from the University of Mary Washington cum laude with a B.S. in Chemistry.  For her undergraduate Honors Thesis, she developed and implemented synthetic routes for polyethylene glycol guanidinylation reagents for protecting alkylguanidines. Katie received an American Chemical Society Certified Degree and was awarded The American Institute of Chemist Foundation Student Award for Excellence in Chemistry in 2010.

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Selected publications include:

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• Strong, K.L. Epplin, M.P.; Bacsa, J.; Butch, C.J.; Burger, P.B.; Menaldino, D.S.; Traynelis, S. F.; Liotta, D.C. The Structure-​Activity Relationship of a Tetrahydroisoquinoline Class of N-​Methyl-​d-​Aspartate Receptor Modulators that Potentiates GluN2B-​Containing N-​Methyl-​d-​Aspartate Receptors. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 2017, 60, 5556-5585.

• Strong, K.L.; Epplin, M.P.; Jing, Y.; Traynelis, S.F.; Liotta, D.C. Mechanism of action of a GluN2C- and GluN2D-selective NMDA receptor positive allosteric modulator. In Allosterism in Drug Discovery, Doller, D., Ed.; Royal Society of Chemistry; Cambridge, 2016; pp 281-309.

• Perszyk, R.E.; DiRaddo, J.O.; Strong, K.L.; Low, C.; Ogden, K.K.; Khatri, A.; Vargish, G.A.; Pelkey, K.A.; Tricoire, L.; Liotta, D.C.; Smith, Y.; McBain, C.J.; Traynelis, S.F. GluN2D-​containing N-​methyl-​D-​aspartate receptors mediate synaptic transmission in hippocampal interneurons and regulate interneuron activity. Molecular Pharmacology. 2016, 90, 689-702.

• Swanger, S.A.; Chen, W.; Wells, G.; Burger, P.B.; Tankovic, A.; Bhattacharya, S.; Strong, K.L.; Hu, C.; Kusumoto, H.; Zhang, J.; Adams, D.R.; Millichap, J.J.; Petrovski, S.; Traynelis, S.F.; Yuan, H. Mechanistic Insight into NMDA Receptor Dysregulation by Rare Variants in the GluN2A and GluN2B Agonist Binding Domains. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2016, 99, 1261-1280.

• Strong, K.L.; Jing, Y.; Prosser, A.R.; NMDA receptor modulators: an updated patent review (2013-2014). Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents. 2014, 24, 1349-1346.

• Santangelo, R.M.; Ogden, K.K.; Strong, K.L.; Khatri, A.; Chepiga, K.M.; Jensen, H.S.; Traynelis, S.F.; Liotta, D.C. Synthesis and Structure Activity Relationship of Tetrahydroisoquinoline-based Potentiators of GluN2C and GluN2D Containing N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptors. Med. Chem. 2013, 56, 5351-5381.

• Santangelo, R.M.; Acker, T.M.; Zimmerman, S.S.; Katzman, B.M.; Strong, K.L.; Traynelis, S.F.; Liotta, D.C. Novel NMDA receptor modulators: an update. Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents. 2012, 22, 1337-1352.

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