Giel Vandemoortele, PhD

Giel Vandemoortele obtained a Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences, majoring in immunology and infection in 2013 at Ghent University, Belgium. His Master's thesis was centered on characterizing protease substrate specificity and was conducted under supervision of Prof. Dr. Kris Gevaert (VIB-Ghent University). Subsequently, Giel obtained a PhD at the VIB Center for Medical Biotechnology under supervision of Prof. Dr. Sven Eyckerman and Prof. Dr. Kris Gevaert. Entitled ‘Towards a genome engineering toolbox for proteomics’, the aim of the thesis was to explore the opportunities recent advances in the genome engineering field (i.e. CRISPR/Cas9) entail for mass spectrometry analysis of proteins and protein-protein interactions at endogenous expression levels.

Giel joined De Clercq & Partners in 2019 and qualified as a European Patent Attorney in 2022 and successfully passed the exam for Belgian Patent Attorney in 2023.

His areas of practice include

• Drafting, filing and prosecution of Belgian patent applications
• Drafting, filing and prosecution of European and PCT patent applications
• Drafting and prosecution of national patent applications
• Opinions regarding patentability, freedom-to-operate, infringement and validity of intellectual property rights
• Oral proceedings before the EPO in examination and opposition and before the Boards of Appeal
• Legal IP advice on Belgian Patents
• IP due diligence
• Patent literature searching and analysis
• Portfolio management, advice and strategy
• Validations of European patents in Belgium
• Acting as an expert for the Belgian courts or parties in descriptive seizure proceedings
• Acting as an expert in litigation before Belgian civil courts or parties in intellectual property matters
• General strategic and legal advice in IP matters

Languages

Giel is a native Dutch speaker, is very fluent in English and has a working knowledge of French.

Competences

Giel obtained scientific experience in several life science fields such as molecular biology and biochemistry - especially in discovery proteomics, targeted proteomics, precise gene editing in mammalian cell lines using different techniques, proximity-labeling technologies, immunology and cell biology in general.