Dr. Ashley Sloat
President & Director of Patent StrategyAurora Patents (USA)
Ashley is a USPTO-registered patent practitioner specializing in the development and management of patent portfolios for startup ventures and emerging growth companies. She takes a hands-on approach, working closely with Engineering and Management teams to understand each client’s business, competition, and product vision. With this insight, she helps increase the value of her clients’ portfolios while reducing legal costs.
She has extensive experience building portfolios across diverse technologies, including robotic systems, intracardiac devices, wireless healthcare technologies, surgical training systems, topical drug formulations, drug repurposing, and consumer products. Since its founding in 2016, Aurora Patents has grown rapidly, serving startups and established companies throughout the U.S. and internationally. Aurora also produces the *Patently Strategic Podcast*, where Ashley is a frequent host. She additionally serves on the Board of Directors of Traverse City’s tech incubator, 20Fathoms, and was named to *Traverse City Business News*’ 40 Under 40 for 2024.
Ashley earned her Ph.D. (summa cum laude) in biomedical sciences from the University of Michigan, where she researched immune-mediated disorders and served as a technology transfer fellow. In that role, she evaluated new technologies for commercialization potential and patentability. She authored or contributed to nine peer-reviewed publications, presented at more than 25 conferences, secured over $25,000 in research funding, and served as an Associate Editor for *Faculty of 1000*, reviewing cutting-edge biomedical research.
Following her Ph.D., Ashley worked as a patent infringement researcher for U of M and as a regulatory writer for an Ann Arbor-based pharmaceutical company, drafting submissions for the European Medicines Agency. She later joined Silicon Valley’s Hudak Consulting Group LLC, where she drafted and prosecuted patent applications, conducted patent landscape analyses, and performed patentability searches.
