Advancing Biotherapeutics Manufacture
Project ID: 2531ac1461
(You will need this ID for your application)
Research Theme: Manufacturing The Future
UCL Lead department: Biochemical Engineering
Lead Supervisor: Daniel Bracewell
Partner Organisation: Purolite Ltd
Stipend enhancement: £2,000 per year
Project Summary:
Why is the research important?
While leading edge biotherapeutic molecules offer promising avenues for addressing complex diseases and improving patient care, they are also putting pressure on technology providers. Without innovation from industry vendors, the cost of manufacturing leads to unacceptably high cost to patients and significant inefficiencies in the downstream purification for the therapeutic manufacturers. This is due to the innate differences in cell and gene therapies, to more established therapeutics like antibodies, that result in the unsuitability of traditional chromatography media as well as the limited options regarding novel ligands to tackle new modalities.
This PhD project will study the field of purification of cell and gene therapy therapeutics. Investigating matrix design, coupling and target interaction using various biophysical techniques to better understand the properties that influence binding and selectivity, to solve current problems, bottlenecks and inefficiencies in this field. The successful applicant will receive training in all relevant areas of the project, including the use of laser diffractometry, pressure flow performance, confocal laser microscopy, electron tomography, scanning electron microscopy and FPLC systems. Upon starting, the PhD candidate will join renowned research group headed by Daniel Bracewell, Professor of Bioprocess Analysis, Department of Biochemical Engineering. The project will be based at University College London (UCL) and is jointly funded by EPSRC and Ecolab. During their project, the PhD researcher will have access to gold-standard facilities and resources, with strong mentorship, support, and frequent career development opportunities both at UCL and Ecolab, based in South Wales.
Who are we looking for? A UK Master’s degree, or a minimum of an upper second-class UK Bachelor’s degree, in Biochemical Engineering / Chemical Engineering / Bioprocessing or relevant subject area (or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard)