Chau (pronounced as “Jo”) Ta is a patent agent with McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP. Dr. Ta provides technical advice in support of validity, infringement, and patentability analysis in the biotechnology area.
Prior to joining MBHB, Dr. Ta was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Northwestern University and Washington University at St Louis, with a focus on ion channel membrane protein. Dr. Ta’s expertise includes biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, physiology, pharmacology and molecular biology. During her postdoctoral training, she was also an intern for Innovation and New Ventures Office (INVO) at Northwestern University, where she was exposed to vast areas of innovation and gained hands-on experience in evaluating technologies for patentability, marketability and commercialization readiness. In addition to her work, Dr. Ta enjoys advocating for women in STEM by organizing conferences and leading mentoring sessions.
Gunasekar SK, Xie L, Kumar A, Hong J, Chheda PR, Kang C, Kern DM, Ta C.M., Maurer J, Heebink J, Gerber EE, Grzesik WJ, Elliot-Hudson M, Zhang Y, Key P, Kulkarni CA, Beals JW, Smith GI, Samuel I, Smith JK, Nau P, Imai Y, Sheldon RD, Taylor EB, Lerner DJ, Norris AW, Klein S, Brohawn SG, Kerns R, Sah R. (2022) Small molecule SWELL1-LRRC8 complex induction improves systemic glycemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in murine Type 2 diabetes. Nature Communications, 13(1):784.
Alghanem AF, Abello J, Maurer JM, Kumar A, Ta C.M., Gunasekar SK, Fatima U, Kang C, Xie L, Adeola O, Riker M, Elliot-Hudson M, Minerath RA, Grueter CE, Mullins RF, Stratman AN, Sah R. (2021) The SWELL1-LRRC8 complex regulates endothelial AKT-eNOS signaling and vascular function. Elife, 10, e61313.
Ta C.M., Vien T., Ng L., DeCaen P. (2020) Structure and function of polycystin channels in primary cilia. Cellular Signalling, 72, 109626.
Kumar A., Xie L., Ta C.M., Hinton A. Jr, Gunasekar S., Minerath R., Shen K., Maurer J., Grueter C., Abel D., Meyer G. and Sah R. (2020) SWELL1-LRRC8 complex regulates skeletal muscle cell size, intracellular signaling, adiposity and glucose metabolism. Elife, 9, e58941.
Rorsman N., Ta C.M., Garnett H, Swietach P., Tammaro P. (2018) Defining the ionic mechanisms of optogenetic control of vascular tone by channelrhodopsin-2. British Journal of Pharmacology, 175, 2028-2045.
Bushell S., Pike A., Falzone M., Rorsman N., Ta C.M., Corey R., Newport R., Shintre C., Tessitore A., Chu A., Wang Q., Shrestha L., Mukhopadhyay S., Love J., Burgess-Brown N., Sitsapesan R., Stansfeld P., Huiskonen J., Tammaro P., Accardi A., Carpenter E. (2018) The structural basis of lipid scrambling and inactivation in the endoplasmic reticulum scramblase TMEM16K. Nature Communications, 10, 3956.
Ta C.M., Acheson K., Rorsman N., Jongkind R., Tammaro P. (2017) Contrasting effects of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate on cloned TMEM16A and TMEM16B channels. British Journal of Pharmacology, 174, 2984-2999.
Ta C.M., Adomaviciene A., Rorsman N., Garnett H, Tammaro P. (2016) Mechanism of allosteric activation of TMEM16A/ANO1 channels by a commonly used chloride channel blocker. British Journal of Pharmacology, 173, 511-28.