James R. Hands

James R. Hands, PhD, is a science advisor in the firm’s Business Law department and a member of its Life Science and Intellectual Property groups. He joined Goodwin in 2026 and supports clients with patent drafting and prosecution, IP due diligence, and freedom-to-operate analyses, drawing on his deep technical expertise in the life sciences, biomedical, biotechnology, and medical technology matters.

Prior to joining Goodwin, James served as an Intellectual Property technical specialist at Clark+Elbing LLP. His earlier experience includes serving as director of Preclinical Research at ConvaTec, a medical device company, and completing Postdoctoral Research Fellowships at both Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

James leverages expertise in analytical chemistry, biophotonics, and translational science to support clients navigating complex challenges in MedTech and biotechnology. His research experience spans biomedical spectroscopy, microfluidics, biosensors, biotherapeutics, point-of-care tools, and specialized defense and threat detection systems, seamlessly integrating in-vitro and in-vivo translational research. Additionally, James works extensively with medical hardware including implants, stents, surgical meshes, and wearables.

James is an Adjunct Professor in the College of Science at Northeastern University (Boston), where he teaches graduate courses including Agents of Bioterrorism, Biotherapeutic Approvals, Molecular Approaches Biotechnology, and Experimental Design.

Additionally, he is an invited peer-reviewer for prominent journals, including Analytical Chemistry, Journal of Neuro-Oncology, and Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry.

James’s professional and academic contributions have been recognized with several honors:

• ConvaTec – Innovation Award (2022)
• U.S. Department of Commerce – SIGMA-Xi Research Award (2016)
• Royal Society of Chemistry – Analytical Chemistry Award (2015)
• National Health Service (NHS) UK – Research & Innovation Honors (2013, 2014)
• FACSS – Spectroscopy & Analytical Chemistry Award (2014)
• British Neuro-Oncology Society – Scientific Research Award (2013)

• Co-Author, “Investigating the effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone-based urinary catheter coatings on spermatozoa quality,” Pharmaceutics and Pharmacology, 2026 
• Co-Author, “Dynamic Measurement of Nanoflows: Developed an optofluidic flow meter capable of measuring nanoliter-per-minute scale flows,” Analytical Chemistry, 2019 
• Primary Author, “Brain Tumor Differentiation: Established rapid, stratified serum diagnostics using attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy for brain tumor detection,” Journal of Neuro-Oncology, 2016 
• Co-Author, “Rapid Discrimination of Maggots Using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy,” Forensic Science International, 2015 
• Primary Author, “Stratified Serum Spectroscopic Diagnostics for Brain Tumors,” Neuro-Oncology, 2014 
• Primary Author, “Serum Spectroscopy of Brain Tumors,” Neuro-Oncology, 2014 
• Co-Author, “Vibrational Spectroscopic Methods for Cytology and Cellular Research,” Analyst, 2014 
• Primary Author, “ATR-FTIR Spectral Discrimination of Brain Tumor Severity,” Journal of Biophotonics, 2014 
• Primary Author, “Rapid Diagnosis of Gliomas from Serum Samples,” Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 2013