Andreas Kuersten

JD, University of Pennsylvania ’14
Director of Pre-Law Advising, Georgetown University
Graduate Certificate in Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania ‘14

“The certificate in social, cognitive, and affective neuroscience has been invaluable in advancing my career as a practicing attorney and legal scholar.  Speaking as someone who previously had no official STEM qualifications… my certificate helped me procure a prestigious position clerking for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which is often called “the technology court” because it has sole jurisdiction over appeals involving patent law.

With regard to my scholarly aspirations, the SCAN program allowed me to gain the technical knowledge to confidently and intelligently engage issues at the intersection of neuroscience and law, and also legal issues involving the convergence of law and other sciences.  It gave me an excellent foundation with regard to the language of science and the ability to critically assess science literature.

To date, I have published pieces on the use of brain images at trial, the regulation of noninvasive cognitive enhancement devices, and the patenting of neuromodulation technology.  The SCAN program also afforded me the opportunity to make important connections with scholars in other fields who I have partnered with on several publications, including the aforementioned pieces on cognitive enhancement devices and patent law.  Overall, I am incredibly grateful that the SCAN program exists and that I decided to complete it.  I have benefited from it immensely and will likely continue to. ”