Research led by Dr. Govind Rao, Director of Center for Advanced Sensor Technology and professor in the department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering is featured in a recent article posted on leaps.org titled “With This New Technology, Hospitals and Pharmacies Could Make Vaccines and Medicines Onsite, 2023” The story was written based on a preprint of a paper with Shayan Borhani, Chemical Engineering PhD candidate as the first author. Aaron Thole, Chemical Engineering PhD student and Dr. Doug Frey, professor in the department of Chemical, Biochemical and Environmental Engineering are also co-authors. (https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.19.521044v1).

The article describes a process to develop a compelling pandemic mitigation strategy to promptly suppress viral emergence at the source of an outbreak using proteins such as GRFT which are efficacious in neutralizing a broad range of viruses. This process is shown to produce a product with consistent purity and potency in less than 24 hours using cell-free biomanufacturing. 

The collaborators demonstrated GRFT production using two independent cell-free systems, one plant and one microbial. Griffithsin purity and quality were verified using standard regulatory metrics. Efficacy was demonstrated in vitro against SARS-CoV-2 and HIV-1 and was nearly identical to that of GRFT expressed in vivo. The proposed production process is efficient and can be readily scaled up and deployed anywhere in the world where a viral pathogen might emerge. The current emergence of viral variants has resulted in frequent updating of existing vaccines and loss of efficacy for front-line monoclonal antibody therapies.

Dr. Rao wants to advance technology to the point where any hospital or pharmacy could load up the media containing molecular factories, mix up the necessary amino acids, nucleotides, and enzymes, and harvest the medications in a matter of hours. This will enable on-site and on-demand medication production. Once this approach is thoroughly validated it might revolutionize medicine-making even outside of hospitals and pharmacies and extend beyond urgent situations.

Congratulations to the graduating Class of 2022! 

We are so proud of all of the 2022 chemical engineering majors and their accomplishments. 

The following Chemical Engineering majors of the Class of 2022 have received offers to continue their education:

• Justin Damon, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology & Bioengineering Track ‘22, will be attending the Georgia Institute of Technology to study Bioengineering.
• Sumana Peddibhotla, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology & Bioengineering Track ‘22, will be attending JHU Fall 2022 to earn her PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.
• Courtney Cavin, Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology & Bioengineering Track ‘22, will be attending UMBC to work towards her Master’s of Science in Biochemical Engineering.
• Makayla Headley, Chemical Engineering, Traditional Track ‘22, will be attending Clemson University and pursue a PhD in Engineering and Science Education

The following Chemical Engineering majors of the Class of 2022 have accepted positions for employment at the following businesses, agencies, and organizations:

• Rodney Azzu, Chemical Engineering, Traditional Track ‘22, will be working at Amazon as an Operations Engineer.
• Jeremy Olver, Chemical Engineering, Traditional Track ‘22, will be working at Citrus & Allied as a Distillation Operator.
• Preston Carter will be working at NIH as a bioanalyst.
• Carlos Castillo Lara, Chemical Engineering, Traditional Track ‘22, will be working at Northrop Grumman as a Systems Engineer.
• Nikki Nacion, Chemical Engineering, Traditional Track ‘22, will be working at Northrop Grumman as an Associate Electronics Pathways Engineer.
• Sakina Esterberg, Chemical Engineering, Traditional Track ‘22, will be working at ExxonMobil as a Process Engineer.

NIH awards UMBC $5.6M to continue support of underrepresented graduate students in STEM. Dr. Jennie Leach is a co-PI on the new grant.

~~ excerpt from "NIH awards UMBC $5.6M to support underrepresented graduate students in STEM" ~~

UMBC’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences will receive $5.6 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health to fund the Graduate Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (G-RISE). The program will support graduate students from underrepresented groups in STEM with up to three years of funding and an array of training opportunities. The goal is to help participants select and prepare for a range of career paths, in academia, industry, government, entrepreneurship, or beyond.

G-RISE will replace UMBC’s Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows program, which the NIH also funded. IMSD, under the direction of Michael Summers, Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and Distinguished University Professor, has proven highly successful at supporting students in completing Ph.D. degrees in STEM.