Caroline Werlang assists in the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in the areas of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals. She has over 10 years of scientific research experience in a variety of technical areas including microbiology, synthetic biology, protein engineering, glycobiology and carbohydrate chemistry, biopolymers, reproductive health, and host-microbiome interactions.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Ph.D., Biological Engineering, 2021
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Fulbright Fellowship, 2016
California Institute of Technology (Caltech), B.S., Chemical Engineering, 2015
Experience
Prior to joining the firm, Caroline worked in the biomanufacturing industry, where she genetically engineered microbes and oversaw their translation into full-scale production bioreactors. With support from the firm, Caroline is studying for her J.D. at Harvard Law School.
Caroline obtained her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Professor Katharina Ribbeck. Her Ph.D. focused on host-microbe interactions in mucosal environments. She developed materials inspired by the glycoprotein mucin that reduce the virulence of pathogenic bacteria. Before that, Caroline was a Fulbright Scholar at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne and received her bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
Other Publications
First author, "Selective Biofilm Inhibition through Mucin-Inspired Engineering of Silk Glycopolymers." JACS (2024)
Co-inventor, "Methods and compositions for treating or preventing a vaginal infection of Gardnerella vaginalis." Patent Application Publication No. WO2023245009A1
Co-author, "Prevotella are major contributors of sialidases in the human vaginal microbiome." PNAS (2024)
Co-inventor, "Compositions and methods for reducing biofilm formation." Patent Application Publication No. WO2023240237A2
Co-author, “Role of MUC5B during Group B Streptococcal Vaginal Colonization.” mBio (2022)
First author, “Mucin glycans suppress quorum sensing pathways and genetic transformation in Streptococcus mutans.” Nature Microbiology (2021)
First author, “Engineering mucus to study and influence the microbiome.” Nature Reviews Materials (2019)
Co-author, “A synthetic biology approach to engineering living photovoltaics.” Energy & Environmental Science (2017)
Co-author, “A general tool for engineering the NAD/NADP cofactor preference of oxidoreductases.” ACS Synthetic Biology (2016)
Honors & Involvement
HONORS
Dean's Scholar Award in Property, Harvard Law School (2025)
Siebel Scholarship (2020)
MIT Graduate Women of Excellence Award (2019)
MIT Biological Engineering Teaching Assistant Excellence Award (2018)
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