Meet the Hub team

Professor Nigel Titchener-Hooker

Director of Strategy

• Position: Emeritus Professor of Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Creation of whole bioprocess models and the use of these to gain process insights and understanding.

Professor Suzanne Farid

Co-Director: User Engagement and Translation

• Grand Challenge Lead:
  Digital decisional tools for transforming supply chain management for targeted medicines
• Position: Professor of Bioprocess Systems Engineering,
  Head of The Department of Biochemical Engineering at UCL
• Expertise: Bioprocess Decisional Tools, Bioprocess Economics,
  Drug Development Cost Modelling, Capacity planning,
  Portfolio Management, Risk Analysis,
  Multi-Criteria Decision-Making,
  Multi-Objective Simulation & Optimisation,
  Chemometrics

Professor Paul Dalby

Co-Director: Community Engagement and Training

• Grand Challenge Lead:
  Digitally-driven manufacturing and analytical platforms for targeted medicines
• Position: Professor of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology,
  UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Routes to improve the stability and activity
  of biocatalytic enzymes and therapeutic proteins,
  for ease of manufacture, formulation and delivery to patients

Professor Qasim Rafiq

Co-Investigator

• Position: Associate Professor in Bioprocessing of Regenerative, Cellular and Gene Therapy
  UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Bioprocessing and translation of advanced cell and gene therapies from the lab-scale to clinical and commercial scales

Professor Rob Thomas

Co-Investigator

• Position: Professor of Manufacturing for Cell and Gene Therapies
  Loughborough University School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering
• Expertise: Production systems and processes for cell-based products;
  Translation to commercial manufacture and clinical use;
  Automated and scaled production;
  Measurement systems for process control and quality release;
  defining indicators of cell product quality.

Professor Nicolas Szita

Co-Investigator

• Position: Professor of Bioprocess Microfluidics
  UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Translation of bioprocessing concepts into microfluidic systems (or Lab-on-a-chip systems);
  Use of advanced microfabrication techniques for polymers (rapid prototyping), glass and silicon 

Dr Nourredine Himoudi

Researcher

• UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Training: Master in Biotechnology; PhD in Immunology, research fellow positions in immunotherapy.
  GMP and ATIMPs manufacture management for cancer patients.
• Expertise: Cancer immunotherapy using viral vectors
  to scale up, validate and manufacture gene-modified T cells
  (TCR and Chimeric Antigen Receptors) for paediatric
  and B cell cancers.
  GMP production management of Gene and Cell Therapy (GCT) /ATIMPs production for cancer patients.

Professor Daniel Bracewell 

Co-Investigator

• Position: Professor of Bioprocess Analysis
  UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Bioprocess analysis; Speed and capabilities of the analytical techniques used

Dr Beatrice Melinek 

Researcher

• UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Training: MEng in Chemical Engineering,
  EngD in Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Cell-free synthesis of biomolecules.
  Additionally, viral vaccine / vector purification and process simulation

Professor Paul Dalby

Co-Director: Community Engagement and Training

• Grand Challenge Lead:
  Digitally-driven manufacturing and analytical platforms for targeted medicines
• Position: Professor of Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology,
  UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Routes to improve the stability and activity
  of biocatalytic enzymes and therapeutic proteins,
  for ease of manufacture, formulation and delivery to patients

Professor Jonathan Aylott

Co-Investigator

• Position: Professor in Analytical Bioscience
  University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy
• Expertise: Design, development and implementation of miniaturized analytical devices

Dr Valentine Anyanwu

Researcher

• University of Nottingham
• Training: PhD in Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Engineering and characterisation of novel formulations

Dr Raquel Fernandez Garcia

Researcher

• University of Nottingham School of Pharmacy
• Training: MPharm, PhD
• Expertise: Engineering and characterisation of novel formulations

Dr Braulio Carrillo Sanchez

Researcher

• UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Training: PhD in Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: cell line development, molecular biology and production of novel modalities such as extracellular vesicles

Professor Barry Lennox 

Co-Investigator

• Position: Professor of Applied Control
  University of Manchester
  Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
• Expertise: Robotics for use in Nuclear Engineering Decommissioning
  Leakage and blockage detection in pipelines;
  Multivariate statistical process control;
  Model predictive control;
  Control loop monitoring;
  Monitoring and control of batch processes

Dr Stephen Goldrick

Co-Investigator

• Position: Lecturer in Digital Bioprocess Engineering
  UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Advanced Data Analytics, Mathematical Modelling,
  Machine learning, Process Analytical Technology, Digital Twin

Dr Carlos Duran Villalobos

Researcher

• University of Manchester, Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
• Training: Electronics Engineer/ MSc Digital Signal Processing/ PhD Process Control
• Expertise: Process Control, Multivariate Analysis, Adaptive Control, Data-based Models
   

Dr Nivedhitha Swaminathan 

RESEARCHER

• UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Training: Bachelors Industrial Biotechnology, PhD Bioprocess Engineering
• Expertise: process analytical technology, mathematical modelling, simulation, process optimization and process control

Professor Suzanne Farid

CO-DIRECTOR: USER ENGAGEMENT AND TRANSLATION

• Grand Challenge Lead:
  Digital decisional tools for transforming supply chain management for targeted medicines
• Position: Professor of Bioprocess Systems Engineering,
  UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Expertise: Bioprocess Decisional Tools, Bioprocess Economics,
  Drug Development Cost Modelling, Capacity planning,
  Portfolio Management, Risk Analysis,
  Multi-Criteria Decision-Making,
  Multi-Objective Simulation & Optimisation,
  Chemometrics

Professor Nilay Shah

Co-Investigator

• Position: Head of Department of Chemical Engineering
  Professor of Process Systems Engineering
  Imperial College London
• Expertise: Supply chain design and optimisation;
  Process synthesis and development for fine chemicals, pharmaceutical and biochemical processes;
  Mathematical techniques to assess and improve process safety  

Professor Juergen Branke

Co-Investigator

• Position: Professor of Operational Research & Systems
  Warwick Business School, University of Warwick,
• Expertise: Optimisation under Uncertainty, Multi-Objective Optimisation, Simulation-based Optimisation

Dr Maria Papathanasiou

Co-Investigator

• Position: Lecturer in Chemical Engineering
• Imperial College London Chemical Engineering
• Expertise: Decisional/computational tools, Process modelling/simulation/optimisation, Bioprocess modelling (bioreactors & separation processes)

Dr Christos Stamatis

Researcher

• UCL Biochemical Engineering
• Training: Chemical Engineering (MEng), Biochemical Engineering (MSc, EngD)
• Expertise: Decisional tools, Process economics for mAbs and bispecifics, Chromatography process development 
   

Dr Andrea Bernardi

Researcher

• Imperial College London
  Chemical Engineering
• Training: Chemical Engineer, PhD 
• Expertise: Computational tools, Model-identification and parameter estimation,
  Process design and optimization, Supply chain optimization, Life cycle assessment

Dr Siamak Naderi

Researcher

• University of Warwick
  Warwick Business School
• Training: Industrial Engineering (BSc, MSc, Ph.D.)
• Expertise: Operations and Supply Chain Management,
  Large-Scale Optimisation, Operations Research, Business Analytics

Dr Irina Brass

Co-Investigator

• Position: Associate Professor in Regulation, Innovation and Public Policy,
  UCL Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP)
• Expertise: Regulation of emerging technologies;
  managing emerging risks and uncertainty of disruptive innovation;
  public policy and governance

Dr Manuel Gomes

CO-INVESTIGATOR, INTERIM

• Position: Associate Professor of Health Economics UCL Department of Applied Health Research
• Expertise: Development, assessment and translation of statistical methodology in health economics, economic evaluations alongside clinical trials and large observational studies, with particular emphasis on digital and mental health

Ms Nishma Patel

Researcher

• UCL Department of Applied Health Research (DAHR)
• Training: Health Economist
• Expertise:  Economic evaluation alongside clinical trials, effects of specialist cancer services, health technology adoption

Dr Edison Bicudo

Researcher

• UCL Science Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP)
• Training: PhD, International Politics, Master's in Geography, Bachelor’s Degree in Social Sciences
  Expertise: social and geographical implications of biomedical technologies, e.g. bioinformatics, neuroimaging software, bioprinting

Incoming

Policy Advisor

• Position: Biomanufacturing Policy Advisor
• UCL Science Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), Policy Impact Unit

(to be appointed)

Project Manager

• UCL Biochemical Engineering

Ms Laura Pascual Buffone

Research Finance Officer

• UCL Biochemical Engineering
  Position: EPSRC Project Officer and Research Finance Administrator

Dr Vaughan Thomas

• Outreach Consultant (Industrial)
• Tillingbourne Consulting

Incoming

Policy Advisor

• Position: Biomanufacturing Policy Advisor
• UCL Science Technology, Engineering and Public Policy (STEaPP), Policy Impact Unit