Dr. Volkin is Takeru and Aya Higuchi Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the University of Kansas. He is also co-Director of KU’s Macromolecular and Vaccine Stabilization Center. His research interests include characterization, stabilization, formulation and delivery of protein drugs and vaccines. In 2010, Dr. Volkin joined the KU faculty after 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including senior director positions at Merck Research Laboratories and Centocor R&D. He led formulation and analytical R&D groups responsible for developing dosage forms and analytical methods for dozens of vaccine and therapeutic protein candidates used in clinical trials, including five vaccines and two monoclonal antibodies approved for commercial use. He is co-author of over 80 scientific publications and co-inventor on 14 U.S. patents. Dr. Volkin graduated with B.A. in Chemistry from the University of California-San Diego and earned a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.