Dr. Sheila Zrihan-Licht

Education

Post-doctoral fellow, 1995-1998, Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Ph.D. Biology, 1995, Tel Aviv University

Experience

Dr. Sheila Zrihan-Licht is a highly experienced patent attorney specializing in biotechnology, molecular biology, immunology, and gene editing. Since joining Reinhold Cohn Group in 2012, she has provided strategic intellectual property counsel to a diverse client base, including startups, multinational corporations, and research institutions.
With over 25 years of experience, she provides strategic counsel to Israeli and international clients, helping them build, manage, and strengthen comprehensive patent portfolios. She offers strategic guidance on patent protection, screening processes, global patent drafting and prosecution, and due diligence opinions, including patentability, Freedom-to-Operate (FTO), validity, infringement, and other IP-related matters.
She works closely with academic institutions and early-stage companies, not only drafting and prosecuting their patent applications but also advising on research and development structuring to align with business objectives. By integrating IP considerations into innovation processes, she helps build strong, defensible patent portfolios that enhance long-term value and competitive positioning. 

Her expertise spans molecular biology, immunology, virology, diagnostics, immunotherapy, synthetic biology, and gene editing. She has in-depth knowledge of immunology and CRISPR-based technologies, allowing her to support the development of cutting-edge therapies and biotechnological advancements. 

Before becoming a patent attorney in 2002, Sheila served as Chief Scientist at a biotechnology startup. Prior to joining Reinhold Cohn Group, she was a partner at Luzzatto & Luzzatto, where she led the firm’s Jerusalem office. 

Publications

1. Levitin, F., Baruch, A., Weiss, M., Steigman, K., Hartman, M., Yoeli-Lerner, M.  
   A., Ziv, R., Zrihan-Licht, S., Sheena, S., Gat, A., Lifschitz, B., Simha, M., Stadler, Y., Cholostoy, A., Gil, B., Greaves, D.R., Keydar, I., Smorodinsky, N., and Wreschner, D.H. A novel protein isoform derived from the MUC1 gene by alternative splicing and frameshifting. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2005; 280: 10655-10663.  
2. Zrihan-Licht S., Avraham S., Jiang S., Fu Y., Avraham HK Coupling of RAFTK/Pyk2 kinase with c-Abl and their role in the migration of breast cancer cells. International Journal of Oncology. 2004 Jan; 24(1): 153-9  
3. Zrihan-Licht S., Fu Y.,Schinkmann K., Settleman J., Avraham S., and Avraham H. RAFTK/Pyk2 Tyrosine Kinase Mediiates the Association of p190 RhoGAP With RasGAP in Hereguline-Stimulated Breast Cancer Cells. Oncogene. 2000 Mar 2; 19(10): 1318-28  
4. McShan GD, Zagozdzon R, Park SY, Zrihan-Licht S, Fu Y, Avraham S, Avraham H.  
   Csk homologous kinase associates with RAFTK/Pyk2 in breast cancer cells and negatively regulates its activation and breast cancer cell migration. International Journal of Oncology. 2002 Jul;21(1):197-205.
5. Zrihan-Licht S., Deng B., Yarden Y., McShan G., Keydar I. Groopman J.E., and Avraham H.,  CHK, a Novel Signaling Molecule, Directly Associates with the Activated ErbB-2 Receptor in Breast Cancer Cells and Inhibits their Proliferation., Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1998, 273(7): 4065-72.  
6. Zrihan-Licht S., Lim J., Keydar I., Sliwkowski M.X., Groopman J., and Avraham H.,  Association of CSK Homologous Kinase (CHK) (Formerly MATK) with HER-2/ErbB-2 in Breast Cancer Cells. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 1997, 272(3): 1856-63.  
7. Baruch A; Hartmann M; Zrihan-Licht S; Greenstein S; Burstein M; Keydar I; Weiss M; Smorodinsky N; Wreschner DH. Preferential expression of novel MUC1 tumor antigen isoforms in human epithelial tumors and their. tumor-potentiating tumor-potentiating function. International Journal of Cancer, 1997, 1(5):741-
8. Zrihan-Licht S., Vise M., Keydar I. and Wreschner D.H.   DNA Methylation Status of the MUC1 Gene Coding for a Breast-Cancer-Associated Protein. International Journal of Cancer. 1995, 62(3):245–51. 
9. Zrihan-Licht S., Baruch A., Elroy-Stein O., Keydar I. and Wreschner D.H.   Tyrosine Phosphorylation of the Muc1 Human Breast Cancer Membrane Proteins – Cytokine Receptor-Like Molecules. FEBS Letters. 1994; 356:130-136.  
10. Zrihan-Licht S., Vos H.L., Baruch A., Elroy-Stein O., Sagiv D., Keydar I., Hilkens J. and Wreschner D.H.   Characterization and Molecular Cloning of a Novel Muc1 Protein Devoid of Tandem Repeats Expressed in Human Breast Cancer Tissue. Eur. J. Biochm. Priority Paper. 1994; 224:787-795.  
11. Wreschner D.H., Zrihan-Licht S., Baruch A., Sagiv D., Hartman M.L., Smorodinsky N., and Keydar I.   Dose a Novel form of the Breast Cancer Marker Protein, Muc1, Act as a Receptor Molecule that Modulates Signal Transduction?. Advances in Experimental Medicine & Biology. 1994; 353: 17-26.  
12. Wreschner D.H., Tsarfaty I., Hareuveni M., Zaretsky J., Smorodinsky N.I., Weiss M., Zrihan S., Burstein M., Horev J., Kotkes P., Lathe R., Hart C.A., McCarthy K., Williams C., Dion A., and Keydar I.   Molecular Analysis of H23 Epithelial Tumor  Antigen – Differentially Spliced Full Length cDNA and Gene.  In Monoclonal Antibodies and Breast Cancer (1990) R. Ceriani, Ed., Plenum Publishers.  
13. Hareuveni M., Tsarfaty I., Zaretsky J., Kotkes P., Horev J., Zrihan S., Weiss M., Green S., Lathe R., Keydar I. and Wreschner D.H..   A Transcribed Gene, Containing a Variable Number of Tandem Repeats, Codes for a Human Epithelial Tumor Antigen. European Journal of Biochemistry, 1990; 189: 475-486.  
14. Wreschner D.H., Tsarfaty I., Hareuveni M., Zaretsky J., Smorodinsky N.I., Weiss M., Horev J., Kotkes P., Zrihan S., Jeltsch J.M., Green S., Lathe R., and Keydar I..  Isolation and Characterization of Full-Length cDNA Coding for the H23 Breast Tumor Associated Antigen.  In Breast Cancer: Progress in Biology, Clinical Management and Prevention.  M.A. Rich, J.C. Hager and I. Keydar, Eds., Proc. Intl. Assoc. for Breast Cancer Research. Conf. Tel-Aviv, March 1989. Kluwer Academic Publishers.