The biopharma industry has been continuously growing and progressing with digital transformation. The Symposium will highlight the Current Status and Promise of mRNA Biotherapeutics and introduce Innovation in mRNA Biotherapeutics Manufacturing at MIT.
Join us at the 2024 MIT Seoul Life Science Symposium, organized by KoreaBio (Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization) and MIT ILP. The symposium will also bring you closer to the MIT Life Science Innovation Ecosystem and allow you to explore global trends in MIT’s innovative Drug Discovery and Manufacturing research and experiments from leading MIT faculty and MIT-connected startups.
The agenda below pertains to the 2024 MIT Seoul Symposium on July 10, which is part of the comprehensive schedule for the BIOPLUS-INTERPHEX KOREA 2024 on July 10-12, 2024. To view the full program, please visit BIOPLUS-INTERPHEX KOREA 2024 website.
To register as an ILP member and receive complimentary access, please email ocrevents@mit.edu
Edwin R. Gilliland Professor, MIT Department of Chemical Engineering
Dr. Richard D. Braatz is the Edwin R. Gilliland Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, where he conducts research into advanced biomanufacturing systems. He is the Director of the Center on Continuous mRNA Manufacturing and leads process data analytics, mechanistic modeling, and control systems for projects on vaccine, monoclonal antibody, and gene therapy manufacturing. Dr. Braatz received an M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and was the Millennium Chair and Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University before moving to MIT. Dr. Braatz has collaborated with more than 20 companies, including Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Biogen, Amgen, Takeda, and Abbott Labs. He has published over 300 papers and three books. Dr. Braatz is a Fellow of IEEE, IFAC, AIChE, and AAAS and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
The value of mRNA biotherapeutics was demonstrated for the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine that was developed for the last pandemic. The ability to quickly produce a biotherapeutic via cell-free synthesis enables the potential of greatly reducing process development speed – which was critical during the pandemic – but only the potential for reduced production and purification costs. This presentation will discuss the current status and promise for both vaccine and non-vaccine biotherapeutic applications.
Steve Palmer is a Director within MIT’s Office of Corporate Relations. Steven comes to OCR with many years of experience building relationships, advancing diplomacy, and seeking new business initiatives in both the public and private sectors. He has spent his career highlighting and translating technological issues for policy makers, engineers, analysts, and business leaders. Steven has worked in government, industry, and academia in the U.S. and abroad. He is also an Executive Coach at MIT Sloan and Harvard Business School. Steven earned his Bachelor of Science at Northeastern University, and his M.B.A. at MIT Sloan where he was in the Fellows Program for Innovation and Global Leadership.
Dr. Taegyun Moon joined Corporation Relations in October 2021 as Program Director. Moon will be working in the Life Science group.
Dr. Moon left his current position as Chief Strategy Officer at Aspen Imaging Healthcare in Plano, TX. In his role at Aspen, he has led new business development and, among other accomplishments, launched a new product through his partnership with Samsung. With some authorized overlap with Aspen, Moon also led strategy and business development for NeuroNexus Technologies (a University of Michigan spinoff) in Ann Arbor. Before that, he spent more than five years with Samsung Economic Research institute in Seoul as a Principal Research Analyst focusing on medical devices, pharma, and the digital health industries. Other positions held include Consultant at Boston Consulting Group (Seoul), Associate at McKinsey & Company (Seoul), CEO Jingfugong Food Inc. (Qingdao, China), and Research Assistant in the Neural Engineering Lab at the University of Michigan.
Moon earned his B.S. and M.S. both in Mechanical Engineering at the Korea University in Seoul, and his Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He speaks Korean (native) and Chinese in addition to English.
This presentation describes a digital twin that is being developed for end-to-end continuous manufacturing of mRNA biotherapeutics. Mechanistic models are being constructed for all unit operations. These dynamic models are integrated with models for constraints, uncertainties, and disturbances to form a digital twin for automated, integrated continuous manufacturing. The digital twin is suitable for (1) evaluation and validation of mechanistic hypotheses to gain mechanistic understanding, (2) comparison of multiple process flowsheet options, (3) optimization of individual unit operations and their control systems, (4) the design of end-to-end operations, and (5) the real-time operation alongside plant operations. Experimentally validated results are presented for multiple unit operations.
Dr. Najung “Natalie” Kim is a Program Director at the MIT Industrial Liaison Program. She brings to the Office of Corporate Relations (OCR) expertise in strategic collaboration in life sciences and biotech industries, including cell and gene therapy and AI/ML analytics. Kim comes to OCR from Adjuvant Partners where she has been serving as Senior Consultant, Strategic Partnering, working to connect industry, startups, and academic leaders in the cell and gene therapy sector. Before Adjuvant, Natalie worked at Ajinomoto, where she was Manager of the Research & Innovation Center, facilitating collaborations on preclinical and clinical development of biologics, diagnostics, and cell therapy ancillary products in Asia, Europe, and North America. Prior to Ajinomoto, Kim was a business development manager at Medipost, where she led strategic partnerships in mesenchymal stem cell therapeutics in orthopedic and neurodegenerative applications. Kim also went through her postdoctoral training at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine as a Department of Defense Research Fellow working on translational gene therapy in tissue engineering programs.
Kim earned her B.S. Bioscience and Food Engineering at Handong Global University, her M.S. Medicine at Seoul National University in South Korea, and her Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa.
Founder, Biomixing
Ines Herrero is a mathematician with a Ph.D. in Business Management, combining quantitative expertise with strategic insight. With a strong background in fostering relationships between academia and industry, she offers a unique perspective on interdisciplinary collaborations. Having spearheaded the inception of three successful startups, her entrepreneurial spirit continues to fuel innovation at Biomixing, driving advancements in this cutting-edge field. Ines epitomizes the integration of academic knowledge and practical application, bridging the gap between theory and real-world outcomes.
Co-Founder and CEO, Kano Therapeutics
Floris is the Co-Founder and CEO of Kano Therapeutics, a biotech startup enabling cell and gene therapies based in Cambridge, MA. She holds a PhD in Biophysics from the Technical University of Munich, focusing on DNA nanotechnology. She started the company based on her postdoctoral research work in Mark Bathe’s BatheBioNano lab at MIT. Floris was awarded MIT’s 2020 Innovative Woman in Entrepreneurship Award, the Activate Global fellowship, Pillar VCs Founder to Watch in Biotech Award 2021, The Wave Summit 21 Emerging Woman Founders Award, and most recently, the Termeer Fellowship for first-time CEOs.
CEO, Quantiscope
Kevin Christopher, JD/MBA, is the dynamic CEO of Quantiscope, known as a pioneering force in AI-driven solutions for drug discovery and biomanufacturing. With a distinguished background in law, business, and technology, Kevin brings a multifaceted perspective to his role. Operating from Salt Lake City's prestigious Altitude Lab, Kevin fosters an environment of excellence and collaboration, inspiring teams to push boundaries and achieve unprecedented breakthroughs.
Founder and CEO, Tiba Biotech
Karl Ruping is CEO and co-founder (with Jasdave Chahal and Christian Mandl) of Tiba Biotech, an MIT and Whitehead Institute venture focused on mRNA vaccines and therapeutics. He began his career as a patent attorney, specializing in international patent litigation and intellectual property licensing for both emerging ventures and global clients. Karl’s technical expertise includes bioinformatics, molecular modelling and large-scale computing.
Karl studied economics at Colby College, computer science at Temple University, and was a Research Fellow at MIT’s School of Engineering. He holds a juris doctorate from Boston University, after which he was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology. Today he is a member of the International Advisory Committee of Harvard’s Asia Center, and is an advisor to a number of MIT-related startups and student-led programs.