Rosie joined the Dehns Brighton office in October 2020 after completing a Master’s degree (Distinction) at the University of Southampton. Her dissertation classified variants in congenital heart disease patients to investigate the presence of undiagnosed primary ciliopathies.
Rosie’s undergraduate degree, at the University of Cambridge, focused on Genetics in the final year, with a project involving CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis of Drosophila melanogaster lines. The project aimed to determine the effect of Plp mutagenesis on female fertility and egg chamber morphology.
Rosie qualified as a European Patent Attorney in 2023 and as a UK Chartered Patent Attorney in 2025. She works in the Dehns Biotechnology team.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in patents?
Whilst I loved studying science for my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, I found the thought of going into research quite overwhelming. At the time, it certainly felt that scientific research was the natural next step to follow on from scientific university studies. I did not have a particular area of research that I was passionate about and it felt like too much of a risk to pursue a PhD in a narrow field that I was not sure was a good fit for me. So, knowing that I wanted to continue to use my scientific training in some way, I began to look for careers that I could apply my skills to that existed outside of a lab environment. A career in patents, with its structured career progression, and office-based format, felt like a natural fit for me, and the fact that I would be able to continue to explore broad areas of biosciences was a huge bonus.
What attracted you to Dehns?
The impression I had of Dehns was that it was a very approachable firm with values that seemed to align with my own. Also Dehns’ long history and reasonable size made it feel like a very safe pair of hands to help guide me through my training.
What type of clients do you work for?
I work alongside four different supervisors meaning that I have exposure to a range of clients and fields of inventions. I would say that a large portion of my workload is involved in the European prosecution for overseas agents, especially Korean agents, but that I am also involved in a more intimate way with British and Norwegian life sciences SMEs and universities.
What opportunities are there at Dehns?
There have been a number of webinars on topics not necessarily related to day-to-day work that I have really enjoyed having the chance to go to. For example, there was an inclusivity webinar that I attended which was so thought-provoking and which made me challenge a lot of my beliefs; I appreciate that Dehns offers the opportunity of personal as well as professional growth.
Are you part of any committees/ groups at Dehns?
a long time I was a member of the Charities Committee – it was a great way to meet people within my office (Brighton) and across other offices when I first started. I also enjoyed promoting engagement with the various charities supported by Dehns through creative and fun events and campaigns.
"Dehns’ long history and reasonable size made it feel like a very safe pair of hands to help guide me through my training"