Education & Training

SBE Webinars

Upcoming Webinar

Dr. Steven Singer - Lawrence Berkeley National Lab
Thursday, February 23, 2012
2:00 - 3:00 pm ET
Dr. Singer and his lab are developing an integrated Microbial-ElectroCatalytic (MEC) system to produce advanced biofuels from H2/CO2. We have engineered Ralstonia eutropha, an aerobic chemolithoautotroph, to produce biofuel products by manipulating the polyhydroxybutyrate, fatty acid and isoprenoid biosynthesis pathways and we are testing novel reactor designs to generate these molecules from H2/CO2 at high titer.

Past Webinars

	Engineering Single-Cell Bioanalytics for Discovery and Bioprocess Characterization Dr. J Christopher Love Tuesday, January 24, 2012 2 PM ET J. Christopher Love is an associate professor in chemical engineering and member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. In addition, Chris is an associate member at the Eli and Edythe L. Broad Institute, and at the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.
	Viral Contamination of Biologics Manufacture: Occurrence and Mitigation Dr. Raymond Nims Monday, December 19, 2011 2 PM ET Viral contamination events are a rare occurrence in the biopharmaceutical industry. In the past, most of the reported viral contamination events have involved hamster cell production substrates. It has only been recently that we have learned about viral contaminations involving human and monkey cell production substrates. Manufacturing processes involving bacterial fermentation also are at risk of viral contamination. elease testing, and purification process validation.
	From Biomass to Biofuels: Breaking the Cellulose Barrier Dr. Douglas Clark Wednesday, October 5, 2011 2pm EDT Another approach to develop more stable cellulases is to generate new enzymes by protein engineering. Clark has employed several protein-engineering strategies, including rational design and directed evolution, to create cellulases with improved thermostability and activity profiles tailored to a desired temperature range. These results will be discussed in connection with cellulase structure-stability relationships and the complementarity of bioprospecting and protein engineering for the discovery and generation of new cellulases.
	Tumor Targeting Theory: Physiological Limits from Scaling Analyses, and Design Principles for Better Magic Bullets Dr. K. Dane Wittrup Tuesday September 26, 2011 2pm EDT Wittrup s research program is focused on protein engineering of biopharmaceutical proteins by directed evolution. Areas of interest include: pretargeted radioimmunotherapy; biological response modification of EGFR; and immunotherapy of cancer via engineered cytokines and vaccines.
	Microengineered Hydrogels for Stem Cell Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration Dr. Ali Khademhosseini Tuesday August 23, 2011 4pm EST In this talk, Dr. Khademhosseini will outline his lab s work in controlling the cell-microenvironment interactions by using patterned hydrogels to direct the differentiation of stem cells. In addition, he will describe the fabrication and the use of microscale hydrogels for tissue engineering by using a bottom-up and a top-down approach.
	Providing Energy to a Growing World: Biogasoline and High-efficiency Engines Dr. Mark Holtzapple Thursday June 9, 2011, 3pm EST Dr. Holtzapple will describe the challenges of providing energy to a growing world. To address energy needs, he will show how the MixAlco process converts waste biomass into bio-gasoline. Further, he will explain how to reduce the need for gasoline by using a high-efficiency StarRotor engine.
	Engineering and Health Care Dr. Robert Langer Monday, May 16, 2011, 3pm EDT Dr. Langer will discuss the involvement of engineering in health care, from the discovery of the first angiogenesis inhibitors to the development of controlled drug delivery systems and the foundation of tissue engineering.
	Cybernetic Approach to Metabolic Modeling Dr. Ramkrishna Doraiswami Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 4pm EST Cybernetic modeling has evolved for well over two decades. This seminar seeks to: (i) introduce its basic tenets, (ii) expound its relationship to other approaches to modeling metabolism, and (iii) to reveal its unique dynamic capabilities. The framework is shown to provide eloquent support for goal-oriented explanations of regulatory biological phenomena within the cause-and-effect methodology of science through experimental conformation of exacting predictions.
	New Technologies from Engineered Chimeric Proteins Dr. David Wood Monday, March 21, 2011, 2pm EST Join us to learn about our work with designer fusion proteins that combine domains and functions from unrelated proteins and enzymes. This technology has widespread applications in both bioseparations and biosensing and we look forward to talking about the state of fusion properties in residence and the environment!
	Cell Therapy Bioprocessing Drs. Pete Zandstra and Robert Deans Tuesday, February 8, 2011, 11am EST As cellular therapies are advancing through clinical development and getting closer to market, close collaborations between stem cell biologists, clinical cell processing technologists, and bioengineers will be required for effective commercialization of this new class of drugs. Please join us as this new industry evolves, and as the technical discipline of Cell Therapy Bioprocesing is emerging.
	Towards Genome Engineering in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells Dr. Wei-Shou Hu, University of Minnesota Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 2pm EST Professor Wei-Shou Hu will discuss his group's work on the sequencing of the CHO genome in conjunction with the Society for Biological Engineering.
	Algae to Bioproducts and Biofuels, Challenges and Promising Technologies Dr. Kim Ogden, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Arizona Tuesday, September 28, 2010 2-3PM EDT Professor Ogden will provide an overview of the cultivation testbeds, harvesting technology development, modeling, and potential coproducts of algae in its use in bioproducts and biofuels.
	More heat than light: Opportunities for extremely thermophilic microorganisms and enzymes in biofuels production Dr. Robert M. Kelly, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University Thursday, August 26, 2010 2-3PM EDT Professor Kelly will discuss opportunities for biofuels that relate to extremely thermophilic microorganisms. The genus Caldicellulosiruptor contains extremely thermophilic bacteria, and includes species that produce primary cellulases, which degrade plant biomass to fermentable sugars. A longer-term goal of producing biofuels directly from CO2, thus by-passing photosynthetic processes, will also be discussed.
	Biological Synthesis of Fuels and Chemicals Dr. James C. Liao, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles Thursday, July 22, 2010 2-3PM EDT Professor Liao will present a metabolic engineering approach using various microorganisms to produce higher alcohols (C3-C8) from renewable carbon source. This strategy leverages the host s highly active amino acid biosynthetic pathway and diverts its 2-keto acid intermediates for alcohol synthesis.
	Modular Biocatalysis Dr. Chaitan Khosla, Chair, Chemical Engineering; Wells H. Rauser and Harold M. Petiprin Professor in the School of Engineering; Professor of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, Stanford University Tuesday, June 29, 2010 2-3PM EDT Professor Khosla will detail his laboratory's work to understanding the modularity of a class of multifunctional enzymes called polyketide synthases (PKSs). PKSs catalyze the biosynthesis of a broad range of complex natural products in microorganisms, including many well-known and emerging antibiotics.

Swartz

Breaking the Cell Wall Barrier for Difficult-to-Express Natural and Supernatural Products
Dr. James Swartz, James H. Clark Professor in the School of Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, Cancer Center, Stanford University
Thursday, May 27, 2010 2-3PM EDT
Professor Swartz will discuss the power and versatility of cell-free methods coupled with careful evaluation and engineering of these new systems to enable a whole new range of applications and scientific investigation specifically for the development of new vaccine candidates in the laboratory.

	Systems Metabolic Engineering Dr. Sang Yup Lee, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, BioProcess Engineering Research Center and Bioinformatics Research Center, Center for Systems and Synthetic Biotechnology, Institute for the BioCentury, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 11:00-12:00PM EDT Join other SBE members in this presentation by Professor Lee where he will present the general strategies for systems metabolic engineering, which will be accompanied by several examples including production of chemicals and materials.
		Molecular Bioprocessing as a New Paradigm for Drug Discovery Dr. John Dordick, Howard P. Isermann Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Biology; Director, Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 2:00-3:00PM EDT Join other SBE members in this presentation by Professor Dordick where he will detail his research in the design and optimization of high-throughput, microscale discovery and development platforms and the emergence of using bioprocessing strategies at early stages of drug discovery.
		Molecular Elucidation and Engineering of Stem Cell Microenvironments Dr. David Schaffer, Professor of Chemical Engineering, Department of Bioengineering, and the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, Co-Director, Berkeley Stem Cell Center, University of California, Berkeley Thursday, January 21 at 2010, 2-3 PM EST Join other SBE members in this presentation by Professor Schaffer where he will discuss how the processes controlling stem cell differentiation are regulated by signals from the stem cell microenvironment or niche. The signals include a wide array of factors from soluble small molecules and proteins to mechanical cues. Professor Schaffer will detail his research on the effects of biophysical signals on stem cell function and the way in which biomimetic materials can be used to study principles that regulate cell function as well as the exciting applications that include a way to offer safe and scalable system to precisely control stem cell function for biotechnological and biomedical applications.

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A Bottom Up Approach to Systems Biotechnology Lessons Learned from Bacterial Signal Transduction
Dr. William E. Bentley, Robert E. Fischell Distinguished Professor, Chair, Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland
December 8, 2009 at 2:00-3:00 PM EDT
Professor Bentley will discuss bacterial quorum sensing and how it offers an interesting viewpoint from which to study and control cell phenotype. Through the perception of signal molecules (e.g., AHL, AI-2) and their transduction, bacteria coordinate their behavior and act as ulticellular units. This coordination is responsible for establishing virulence among a variety of pathogens. Biofabricated devices that report on signaling events are constructed to elucidate cell-cell communication and serve as a foundation upon which to develop new drugs and/or screen for pathogenic phenotype.

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Inventing the Biofuel Future: We Can Have Biomass for Fuel and Eat it Too
Bruce E. Dale, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, DOE Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, Michigan State University
October 22, 2009 at 2:00-3:00 PM EDT
Professor Dale will discuss the general areas in which inventions are likely to occur in the developing biofuels industry. He will specifically examine where invention and innovation are likely to occur in the cellulosic biofuels industry (emphasizing the so-called sugar platform). The likely ripple effects of invention in pretreatment technology will be described as will the effects of innovation in crop production, using cover crops as an example. The potential outcomes of such innovation and invention are frankly startling: less expensive food, abundant cellulosic biofuels, significant environmental benefits and less land needed overall to provide both food and fuel.

JensNielsen

Industrial Systems Biology
Jens Nielsen, Systems Biology, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
August 25, 2009 at 2:00-3:00 PM EDT
This presentation will detail how cell factories are used extensively to produce many specific molecules used as pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, fuels, materials and food ingredients. Through the use of directed genetic modifications of cell factories an approach referred to as metabolic engineering it is possible to develop novel bioprocesses that are more efficient, more environmentally friendly and that may produce novel compounds.

The Achilles Heel of Membrane Technology for Biotechnology: Membrane Fouling
Georges Belfort, Russell Sage Endowed Professor of Chemical Engineering, Howard P. Isermann Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
July 21, 2009 at 2:00-3:00 PM EDT
Professor Belfort will present on some recent key theoretical and experimental discoveries and developments that form the foundation of membrane fouling in pressure-driven synthetic membrane processes. Membrane processes have two major limitations; lack of a theoretical formalism that can predict industrial filtration performance and the inherent problem of membrane fouling. Both of these limitations will be addressed here in detail with examples from the Belfort lab and others.

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Designing Efficient Metabolic Networks for Biofuels Production
Friedrich Srienc, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and BioTechnology Institute, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St.Paul, MN
June 25, 2009 at 2:00-3:00 PM EDT
This presentation will demonstrate the use of Elementary Mode Analysis to identify all possible pathways that are embedded in a metabolic network and use this information to reduce the metabolic network to the most efficient operation. Several case studies related to biofuels production will show that this rational approach leads to highly productive organisms.

		Ultrafiltration Bioprocessing Herb Lutz, Principal Engineer, Millipore Corporation May 28, 2009 at 2:00-3:00 PM EDT Knowledge of Ultrafiltration is a springboard into the field of bioprocessing. Herb Lutz will present Ultrafiltration applications, principles of operation, process design and analysis. The webinar is a perfect opportunity to learn about this integral bioprocessing step. Practicing biological and chemical engineers should take this opportunity to learn about one of the most ubiquitous processes in the biopharmaceutical industry.
	Grand Challenges in Sustainable Biofuels Production Gregory Stephanopoulos, Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology April 22, 2009 at 2:00-3:00PM EDT This presentation will discuss three major scientific and engineering challenges to sustainable biofuels production. Identification of these challenges is based on an analysis of the biomass-to-biofuels value chain. This exercise guides establishing of research priorities and also supports guarded optimism for the development of competitive processes for fuel production from renewable resources in the intermediate future.
		Body-On-A-Chip: A Tool for Predictive Pharmacology/Toxicology Michael L. Shuler, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Cornell University March 31, 2009 at 2:00-3:00PM EDT Professor Mike Shuler will detail his work to understand the response of the human body to various pharmaceutical and environmental chemicals using a combination of whole body modules and micro models. Professor Shuler s research focuses on microfabricated devices combined with cell cultures.

SBE Society for Biological Engineers

SBE Webinars