UF College of Medicine PhD program graduate gives lesson on intellectual property

Brian Dorn, Ph.D. ‘03, J.D. ’03, spoke with students and faculty March 12 about his career path

Three men are pictured in an indoor hallway. The man on the right wears a dark suit, light blue tie, and is smiling at the man in the center. The central man has gray hair and a plaid shirt and is also smiling. The man on the left, mostly facing away from the camera, wears a white shirt. A wall and door are in the background.

A man in a suit presents to a blurred classroom audience, standing at a University of Florida branded podium. — Brian Dorn, Ph.D., J.D.

Photo: Photo by Jesse S. Jones

March 12, 2018 — Brian Dorn, Ph.D. ‘03, J.D. ’03, spoke with students and faculty Monday afternoon about his career path, his current work with intellectual property and the true value of a Ph.D.

For Dorn, who received degrees from both the UF Fredric G. Levin College of Law and the UF College of Medicine, working to earn his Ph.D. taught him more than the science of microbiology.

“A Ph.D. is beneficial in any career,” he said. “You learn strategies to attack problems and how to find the right resources to answer your questions. A Ph.D. shows you what you don’t yet know and sets you along the path to finding those answers.”

Dorn currently works for Naples-based orthopedic medical device company Arthrex Inc. as senior intellectual property counsel. From patenting new products to conducting due diligence in investigations into litigation and potential acquisitions, Dorn’s work keeps him at the forefront of technological innovation. He’s worked with entities as diverse as Prestone antifreeze, cancer treatments like Avastin and Herceptin and transgenic zebrafish.