Develop yeast and enzyme products for the grain processing industry, including method development, scale-down/up, DOE, and kinetic modeling. Project lead for a method development team with the aim of developing efficient and predictive tools for product discovery, characterization and scale-up.Grain Applications functional and team leader.

Biological Systems EngineeringMetabolic and genetic engineering of bacterial and fungal strains for the production of biofuels and other chemicals from cellulosic biomass.Fermentation development, optimization, and modeling of fungal strains for the biological pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Similarly, fermentation development for the production of ethanol from aldonic acid intermediates by bacteria.

Project leadership responsibilities for proteases within the Fabric and Household Care business unit. Developed fermentation processes for the scale-up and manufacture of enzymes, specifically amylases produced in B.licheniformis and proteases produced in B.subtilis. Supported product/process transfers to manufacturing scale. Routinely worked with Molecular Biology, Recovery, Formulations, Process Operations, and Business/Marketing groups to conduct bench and pilot scale experiments to assess economic viability and robustness of potential manufacturing strains/processes. Supported cost-improvement initiatives across all manufacturing sites through experimentation within R&D.

Supported design, scale-up, and commercialization of projects within the Specialty Department (cat litter, charcoal, foods, water filtration), specifically those involving solids processing. Worked within a cross-functional team in R&D, consisting of process development, product development, engineering, packaging, sales, and marketing, to meet project timing and consumer deliverables. Routinely executed DOEs, developed test methods, analyzed data, optimized current processes, and made recommendations to the business on process design and improvements.

Investigated the effect of process parameters on the growth of zinc oxide nanowires in solution. The resulting nanowire structures were tested for efficiency in dye-sensitized solar cells. Used electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and photoluminescense measurements to study the mechanism of growth.

Explored co-packaging DNA with an anionic polymer for applications in gene therapy, with the specific objective to reduce DNA surface area and increase endocytosis rates. Used gel electrophoresis and fluorescent resonance energy transmission (FRET) to determine correct packaging of DNA with the anionic polymer.

Manipulated the geometry of polymer particles for applications in drug delivery, with a primary objective of reducing phagocytosis rates by macrophage cells. Used flow cytometry to evaluate cellular uptake of particles, SEM to characterize the polymer particles, and photomicroscopy to evaluate the rate of phagocytosis. Optimized the process of making geometrically different microspheres.