Wallace Buchholz, who joined the College of Engineering in 2013 as the director of the Biological Process Development Facility (BPDF) and professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering, retired at the end of August.
Mark Riley, the college’s associate dean for research, has been named acting director of the BPDF.
We anticipate no significant changes to BPDF facility operations and look forward to increasing the impact BPDF has on our campus.
During Buchholz’s tenure, the BPDF has overseen the commissioning of the newly built GMP suite in 2014 and diversification of bioprocess development and GMP manufacturing projects ranging from an HIV prophylactic to XTEN™ in vivo drug stabilizer to biologic blood factors and anti-cancer therapeutics and vaccines.
Before joining the BPDF, Buchholz served as the microbiology program manager at the Army Research Office (ARO) from 2007-13. There, he reinvigorated the fundamental microbiology research program and focused funding toward microbial adaptation, which underpins microbial forensics capabilities. Prior to ARO, Buchholz tested and validated new biological agent detectors and trained first responders at Dugway Proving Grounds, isolated and identified high-containment infectious agents at the Alaska Public Health Laboratory, and worked for 15 years in plant biotechnology.
Since 1998, the BPDF offers biopharmaceutical process development designed for successful technology transfer from the bench to large-scale GMP manufacturing, and manufactures material suitable for non-clinical and clinical studies and specializes in recombinant peptides and proteins. The BPDF has developed processes for more than 50 products including vaccines, other biotherapeutics, chemokines, and agricultural/industrial enzymes.
BPDF fermentation processes focus on optimizing and controlling high cell-density fermentations of Pichia pastoris, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Escherichia coli for recombinant protein production. Current clients include government, industry, and philanthropic organizations. Most recently, the BPDF developed and scaled-up a process for GMP production of 5P12-RANTES, a microbicide effective in preventing transmission of HIV in vitro.
Riley came to Nebraska in 2012 and led the Department of Biological Systems Engineering after serving in a similar role at the University of Arizona. His research focuses on developing biological sensors to quantify pathogens and chemical toxins, to track bioprocesses, and to evaluate plant stress. He has been inducted as a Fellow into the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers. He received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan, and both his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in chemical and biochemical engineering from Rutgers University.
Click the link below for more information on BPDF.
More details at: https://engineering.unl.edu/bpdf/