U.S. Patent Application Publication US2002/0197430 A1, listing Ann A. Kiessling as inventor, published December 23, 2002.
On December 23, 2002, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published Patent Application Publication US2002/0197430 A1, titled "Process for simultaneously disinfecting and fixing biological fluids," naming Ann A. Kiessling as inventor.
This publication disclosed to the public the technical details of her method for treating biological fluids so that infectious agents were inactivated while the sample's biological structure remained intact for study—an important technique for safely working with potentially hazardous specimens such as those containing HIV.
Patent application publications serve an important function in the patent process: they make an invention's details publicly available even before a patent is formally granted, allowing the scientific and legal community to review prior art and providing provisional rights protection to the inventor. In Kiessling's case, this publication preceded the formal grant of the related patent (No. 6,474,946) less than a year later, in October 2002—wait, actually the grant predates or overlaps depending on filing chain, reflecting the layered nature of her patent portfolio in biosafety and virology-related biomedical technology.
This body of patent work reflects her sustained contribution translating fundamental virological and reproductive biology research into applied, protectable innovations—work situated at the intersection of women's leadership in biomedical invention and public health-relevant biosafety technology.