(481a) Invited Talk: Michael Betenbaugh and the Advanced Mammalian Biomanufacturing Innovation Center (AMBIC)

Dr. Michael J. Betenbaugh is a Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and serves as the founding Center Director of the NSF-funded Advanced Mammalian Biomanufacturing Innovation Center (AMBIC), a multi-university hub that accelerates the development of biopharmaceutical production technologies. His research blends systems biology, metabolic engineering, and glycoengineering to enhance mammalian, insect, and algal cell platforms for therapeutic protein manufacture and sustainable biofuels, with notable advancements in chaperone co‑expression, anti‑apoptotic host modifications, and glycosylation pathway redesign. Dr. Betenbaugh earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia (1981) and his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware (1988). Over his three-decade career, he has been honored with the D.I.C. Wang Award for Excellence in Biochemical Engineering, the Marvin J. Johnson Award, the Cell Culture Engineering Award, and election as a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering.

The Advanced Mammalian Biomanufacturing Innovation Center (AMBIC) will implement engineering innovations to enhance the capabilities of our nation to manufacture these important life-extending and life-saving medicines. Such improvements will improve the competitiveness of US biomanufacturing in coming decades leading to more economic investment by these companies and more jobs for American workers.

The mission of AMBIC is to develop enabling technologies, knowledge, design tools and methods that apply and integrate high-throughput and genome-based technologies to fast-track advanced biomanufacturing processes. AMBIC is the first I/UCRC dedicated to mammalian cell culture upstream development focusing on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, the principal biopharmaceutical production host of industry. AMBIC will bring together leading academic and industrial biotechnologists focused on mammalian cell culture manufacturing at a pre-competitive research level to address the complex problems in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This multi-university center will allow AMBIC to leverage the skills and the expertise of many faculty members across the Sites. AMBIC will be a critical catalyst towards maintaining national excellence in biopharmaceutical production by conducting research in the following areas:

• Understanding Industrially-Relevant Biology
• Process Monitoring and Control
• Consensus and Standardization Issues

Through systems-level biology analysis, novel cell line development, bioreactor optimization, and advanced analytics, AMBIC will provide transformative solutions that can lower biomanufacturing costs and improve bioprocessing efficiency. Most importantly, these advances may ultimately serve to make more biopharmaceuticals available to patients that need them and lower overall health care costs for consumers. In addition, AMBIC will establish and maintain a pipeline of educated and motivated students at multiple levels for careers in biopharmaceutical manufacturing and development. Collaborations with corporate partners will enable the students to work on the most pressing problems that the industry faces. Furthermore, this center will serve to engage and excite students from under-represented minority populations to pursue a career in life sciences, engineering, or related STEM fields. An important part of the AMBIC activities and a committed goal of the PI’s is to increase the participation of women and under-represented minorities in STEM disciplines by energizing students from all backgrounds about the exciting opportunities to help others through STEM careers in biotechnology and biomedicine.

https://www.ambic.org/