Dr Malathi Lakshmikumaran has more than 30 years of experience in the field of biochemistry and Molecular Biology with an expertise in plant genomics, DNA fingerprinting and genetic transformation. She has successfully supervised several Ph.D. students in the area of Plant Molecular Biology. She has more than 100 publications to her credit in various International and Indian journals.

Prior to joining the firm, she served as the Head, Centre for Bioresource & Biotechnology Division in The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) for a period of 17 years. At present, she serves as an Executive Director and heads the IP division of the firm. She is a registered patent agent and has been actively engaged in preparing, filing and prosecuting of patent applications, both in India and abroad. She mainly works on pharmaceutical, chemical and biotechnological patent applications. She advises clients on plant variety protection and registration. She is actively involved in the area of Biodiversity and Traditional knowledge.

Dr Malathi also undertakes extensive work for Start-ups and Incubates, especially with incubates in C-CAMP and IIT Delhi, advising them on Patents and Freedom to operate opinions.