When Katrina Mealey first applied to patent her genetic test for dogs, she was greeted with questions and challenges from the patent office.
She was initially taken back, she said, but a colleague told her it was not uncommon - especially for women applicants.
"She mentioned a study that showed that if there was a woman's name on the patent application, it was more likely to get questioned than if it was a male name," said Mealey, a Regents Professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the director of the Program in Individualized Medicine. "At that time, 20 years ago, women faculty with patents were incredibly unusual. I didn't realize that I was a rarity."
Mealey persisted and wound up patenting, and then licensing, her test, which allows pet owners and veterinarians to see whether a dog has a specific mutation in the MDR1 gene that makes it susceptible to serious, even fatal, reactions to common medications.
"I have a German Shorthair Pointer puppy, and I can give that dog certain drugs every day for months at a time, and it'll be fine," she said. "But if I give a dog that has the mutation one dose of that drug, it'll be in a coma for two weeks."
Mealey designed a test to help veterinarians and pet owners protect dogs from such deadly drug interactions and it's had a worldwide impact. It's been licensed around the globe, used by more than 10 million pet owners, and exceeded $5 million in royalties - the third-highest royalty-earning innovation at WSU.
Mealey patented and licensed a test which identifies whether a dog has a specific mutation in the MDR1 gene - making it susceptible to serious, even fatal, reactions to common medications.
Gender gaps in patenting persist, with roughly 12% of worldwide patents held by women. One key factor cited as a way to help close the gap is mentorship, building up the ladder of associations and connections for women in the sciences between generations. Mealey said her PhD advisor at Texas A&M University set an important example through her steady perseverance through the series of hurdles between the lab and the market.
Another important mentor for Mealey was Warwick Bayly, a researcher, and former dean and provost at WSU who encouraged her to license her discovery through WSU rather than the private labs she was considering.
"He was very encouraging to me, which shows that it's not only women supporting women," she said. "There've been a lot of people, both men and women supporting my efforts. But Bayly, who was the dean at the time when I was trying to decide who to license the technology to, he said, 'If you really want this to be known at WSU, you should keep it here.'"
Mealey's initial work on the genetic mutation in dogs is expanding. She has developed a genetic test for cats, and continues to study the effects of other medications on animals with the mutation. Along with Mustapha Maaz, an application systems analyst and developer in the College of Veterinary Medicine, she has developed apps (MDR1CaddieTM and WhisPurrTM) to provide safe drug dosing information for owners of dogs and cats with the MDR1 mutation. The FDA recently started requiring information about the mutation to be listed on a drug for cats.
The impact of her initial discovery grows and grows, improving the lives of pet owners and the companion animals they love.
"I think commercialization success comes from solving an important problem," she said. "If you can solve a common problem, then it may be commercially viable. If your end goal is commercialization and not solving a problem, I think you are less likely to achieve commercialization success."
Bucking the trend
At a time of persistent gender gaps in the commercialization of science, women researchers have produced scientific innovations with major impact at Washington State University. This is the second in a five-part series on those scientists.
