This course provides students with a detailed understanding of bioreactor design, scale-up and operation. It considers both whole cell (i.e. fermentation) and...

This course provides students with a detailed understanding of bioreactor design, scale-up and operation. It considers both whole cell (i.e. fermentation) and enzymatic (i.e. biotransformation) conversion processes for the synthesis of complex materials such as therapeutic proteins, antibiotics, gene therapy vectors and chiral pharmaceuticals. Particular themes of the course include the interaction of biological catalysts and molecules with the engineering environment within a bioreactor, the theoretical basis of process scale-up and scale-down, and the impact of rDNA techniques on bioreactor design and operation. Particular attention is paid to the instrumentation and control of bioreactors and issues underlying biosafety with respect to contained operation.

Intended learning outcomes 

Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to:

Specify bioreactor characteristics and monitoring and control systems
	Understand how bioreactor operation and scaling affects cell growth and productivity
	Perform design calculations with regards to scale-up and scale-down of a fermentation process
	Evaluate how the kinetics of free or immobilised enzyme affects bioreactor selection and operation
	Relate fundamental knowledge of transport processes and bioreactor engineering to current industrial practice
	Appreciate the impact of rDNA techniques on biocatalyst kinetics and process design

Biochemical Engineering|Biotechnology|Business|Management|Accounting and Finance|Entrepreneurship|Global Health

The objective of the course is to equip doctoral students with an understanding of the fundamentals of entrepreneurial leadership particular at the company...

The objective of the course is to equip doctoral students with an understanding of the fundamentals of entrepreneurial leadership particular at the company foundation stage. Students are expected to gain a broad understanding of evaluating potential intellectual property, founder-team building, raising finance, and start-up business plan writing and pitching to investors. The main focus is to train students in the preparation of a coherent, comprehensive real-world business plan to raise finance for setting up a new venture based on an advanced biological discovery such as cell and gene therapy.

Upon completion of the course, a student should be able to:

Evaluate a potentially advanced medical technology as a commercial opportunity including understanding the Gartner Hype Cycle and producing a detailed SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis
 Understand the building and dynamics of a founder-team, and the hiring of first employees including recruitment and retention
 Understand the fundamentals of company finance with respect to start-ups, investor (VC) expectation, and potential exit routes
 Understand the commercialisation of a cutting-edge scientific discovery from the laboratory bench through the clinical, scalable manufacturing and commercialisation route into routine clinical practice
 Prepare a business plan, funding requirements and executive summary for a potentially disruptive health-care technology
 Prepare an investor presentation and an ‘elevator pitch’ for a potentially disruptive health-care technology