Posts under the ‘Alumni’ category

Dr. David W. Wood

Ohio State University

Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

Friday-March 22, 2013

10:00 a.m.

 MUB-Alumni Lounge

New Technologies from Engineered Self-Modifying Proteins

Professor Wood’s work seeks to apply biological concepts of protein function, cell metabolism, genetics and evolution to the molecular-scale development of new technologies.  These goals are achieved through the development of designer fusion proteins that combine domains and functions from unrelated proteins and enzymes.  We typically combine rational protein engineering with genetic selection to create and fine-tune the desired activities.  In oseparations, we have combined a previously developed pH-sensitive self-cleaving protein with a variety of purification tags to produce simple and economical methods for purifying recombinant proteins.  Our most recent work involves rational and evolutionary approaches to optimizing our self-cleaving tags for use in a wider variety of expression hosts.  In biosensing, we have developed allosteric proteins that incorporate human hormone receptors, and have used these proteins to generate Escherichia coli strains that are growth-dependent on hormones and hormone-like compounds.  Remarkably, this genetically simple bacterial sensor can differentiate agonist from antagonist activities and has been effective in detecting a wide variety of strong and weak estrogenic compounds.  More recently, we have applied this system to the discovery of thyroid active compounds, as well as the evaluation of environmental endocrine disruptors in humans and animals, and even the discovery of possible autism-associated environmental factors.  Applications of our designed proteins are far-reaching, and include drug discovery, biosensing, drug activation, reversible knockouts for metabolic research, new genetic selection systems, and advanced cellular control strategies.

Dr. Todd M. Przybycien

 Carnegie Mellon University

Departments of Chemical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering 

Friday-February 22, 2013

10:00am

MUB- Alumni Lounge

Unconventional Applications of Poly(ethylene glycol)-modified Proteins in BioProcessing and Drug Delivery

The covalent attachment of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) polymer chains, or “PEGylation,” improves the efficacy of protein drugs by extending their half-lives in the circulation without adversely affecting biological binding activity: the PEG chains are thought to hinder recognition by proteases, inhibitors and antibodies through steric interactions and to retard renal clearance through increased molecular size.  We used a more complete understanding of the solution and interfacial adsorption behavior of PEG-protein conjugates to explore new applications of protein PEGylation in bioprocessing and drug delivery. 

We have developed new, high selectivity protein affinity chromatography media by PEGylating immobilized protein affinity ligands outside of the target binding site.  This discourages the non-specific binding of contaminant species without decreasing target binding.  We find selectivity enhancements for IgG-class antibodies of 2x to 3x for Protein A affinity chromatography media modified with 5 kDa and 20 kDa PEG chains relative to the un-modified media, without loss of antibody binding affinity.  Increased contaminant rejection by Protein A media has important implications for simplifying downstream processing operations for monoclonal antibody production and for extending the operating lifetime of this expensive class of bioseparations media.

We have exploited PEGylation to reduce denaturing adsorptive interactions between proteins and interfaces that limit the successful delivery of protein drugs from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLG) microsphere delivery systems. Oil/water interfaces are present during the generation of protein-loaded PLG microspheres by the double emulsion technique and solid/water interfaces are present as the microspheres erode during delivery.  The depressed adsorption isotherms of conjugates reduce the extent of adsorption at denaturing interfaces and the attached PEG random coils serve as steric diluents at interfaces.  While PEGylation with 20 kDa PEG has little effect on protein behavior at ethyl acetate/water interfaces, at PLG/water interfaces we find decreased extents of adsorption, increased reversibility of adsorption and decreased tendency to aggregate.  These results have translated to ~50% and ~100% improvements in active protein release for monoPEGylated and diPEGylated ribonuclease A, respectively.

Adrienne Minerick, an associate professor of chemical engineering, is the recipient of the 2012 Fredrick D. Williams Instructional Innovation Award. The award recognizes faculty who have developed or adapted new and innovative approaches to instruction. Read more

The Annual Chemical Engineering Department Awards Convocation was held in the Rozsa Center on April 11, 2012. This is an opportunity to thank the faculty, staff and students for their hard work and dedication.  The department recognized the support of Mrs. Karen Hubbard, Kimberly-Clark, Dow Chemical, and UOP for their donations and services, which made this year’s Awards Convocation possible.

The guest speaker was Linda McInally, who joined Dow Corning in 1981 after having worked 2 years with IBM following her graduation from MTU as a chemical engineer. Her career at Dow Corning was centered on operations, with positions in process engineering, product development, finance and most recently, several roles in manufacturing leadership. Linda was named Vice President of Manufacturing for the Specialty Chemicals Business in 2008, where she was responsible for manufacturing plants across Asia, Europe and North and South America. Linda was recognized for her deep knowledge of the people and processes around the world, enabling strong leadership for contributing significant financial contribution and quality improvements for the business. Linda was also leading the Global Manufacturing Automation Group, responsible for implementing a vision for improving productivity through automation.Linda was awarded membership to the MTU Presidential Council of Alumnae in 2008 and inducted into the Chemical Engineering Distinguished Academy in 2010. She retired from Dow Corning in early 2012.

The  Interim Chair, Dr. Tony Roger opened the event.  The Convocation Master of Ceremonies was Dr. Faith Morrison, Associate Professor. Awards were presented by Mr. David Caspary, Lab Facilities Manager for Prevent Accidents With Safety (PAWS) Awards. The Dow Chemical Marriott W. Bredekamp Award was presented by Dr. John Sandell, Associate Professor. The Kimberly-Clark Communication Award and Kimberly-Clark Professional Ethics Award was presented by Mr. Robert VanDen Heuvel, Senior Process Engineer, Kimberly-Clark Corporation. The UOP Davis W. Hubbard Plant Design Team Award was presented by Dr. Caryn Heldt, Assistant Professor.  Student Reports were given for the   AIChE Chapter President by Ms. Kelly-Anne Zayan, Omega Chi Epsilon (OCE) President by Ms. Ellesse Bess, the Consumer Products Manufacturing (CPM) President by Mr. Robert Parker and the Alternative Fuels Group (AFG) President by Mr. Jacob Boes Student Research Recognition was presented by Dr. Caryn Heldt, Assistant Professor, the Faculty Awards, Teacher of the Year was presented to Dr. Faith Morrison  by AIChE Chapter President  Ms. Kelly-Anne, and  the Special Recognition of Graduating Seniors, by Dr. Faith Morrison, Associate Professor.

Photos for 2011-2012 Awards Convocation April 11, 2011

The Oprah blog and the Detroit Free Press published interviews with Christina Shinouskis ’82, a chemical engineering alumna known as “the cup lady,” who designs interior storage spaces in vehicles for General Motors. See Freep and Shinouskis.

The Oprah blog and the Detroit Free Press published interviews with Christina Shinouskis ’82, a chemical engineering alumna known as “the cup lady,” who designs interior storage spaces in vehicles for General Motors. See Shinouskis.

• View pictures from the convocation

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Gregg A. Zank, Chief Technology Officer, Senior Vice President, Executive Director of Science & Technology, Dow Corning Corporation

Gregg Zank joined Dow Corning in 1985. With more than 25 years of industrial experi-ence and a strong track record of scientific excellence, Gregg is a recognized leader in the scientific community and a pioneer in technological development. He holds 30 patents for innovations including advanced monolithic and composite ceramics, re-chargeable batteries and high-temperature thermosetting plastics. In his current position, Gregg leads Dow Corning’s innovation efforts, which include a unified approach to advancing and managing innovation for maximum future growth based on global megatrends. He also oversees the company’s resources and mecha-nisms for the development of new ideas and solutions, including a Business & Technol-ogy Incubator. In 2009, Gregg received the Earle B. Barnes Award, given by the American Chemical Society, for his accomplishments in scientific leadership, invention, staff development, and business impact. He was named to Senior Vice President in 2009.

• View the convocation flyer
• View a video of Dr. Johnson’s speech
• View pictures from the convocation

Keynote Speaker: Dr. Maureen L. Johnson, E&P VP Operations Technology, OMS, CI & Activity Planning, BP America Inc.

As a Vice President Operations Technology Maureen (Mo) Johnson is accountable for supporting safe, reliable and efficient operations in Exploration & Production (E&P). Her particular areas of focus are BP’s Operating Management System (OMS), Continuous Improvement (CI) and Activity Planning. Working with the line and functional subject matter experts, her team plans and supports deployment of improvement strategies in these focus areas.

(more…)

• View the PDF document

The Department of Chemical Engineering at Michigan Tech is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Ching-An Peng as the first holder of the James and Lorna Mack Endowed Chair. The reception will be held on August 6th.

• View pictures from the convocation

The Department of Chemical Engineering held its 2008-2009 Awards Convocation April 8 in the lobby of the Memorial Union Ballroom. The Convocation is held each year to honor the graduating seniors, as well as to recognize the support of our industrial partners, alumni and friends who contribute to the success of the department.

The Convocation M.C.s were Dr. Tony Rogers and Dr. Faith Morrison, and the featured speaker was Ms. Susan Lewis Global Manufacturing Director, Dow AgroSciences Division. Other highlights of the 2009 event included undergraduate student awards.