91AV

Cristiana Boi is Associate Professor in Chemical Engineering at the University of Bologna, Italy and Adjunct Faculty in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, USA.
She has been the President of the European Membrane Society (EMS) for the years 2017-18, one of the funding members of the World Association of Membrane Societies (WA-MS) where she served as Secretary for the years 2018-2020.
Her research activity is in the field of membrane and chromatographic separations, in particular regarding the preparation, modification and characterization of functional materials for bioseparations and water purification. The main focus is on the fundamental aspects of the different processes considered and on their possible applications. Current projects involve the purification of gene therapy vectors, mAbs, extracellular vesicles (EVs), the removal of toxins and small molecules from blood and water streams, and the production of novel chromatographic media. Since March 2020 she is working on surgical masks testing and on researching novel masks materials.
She has been the President of the European Membrane Society (EMS) for the years 2017-18, one of the funding members of the World Association of Membrane Societies (WA-MS) where she served as Secretary for the years 2018-2020.

Principal Scientist and Scientific Manager. 25+ years of leadership and individual achievement in Biotechnology and Biomedical R&D. Significant marketing support and customer-support team experience. Broad international network of senior management and scientific professionals. Cutting-edge knowledge of bioprocess science, biomedical technology, and related compliance and business. Significant IP and Technology Intake experience. Key R&D positions including General Electric Healthcare and faculty appointments in top Academic Centers and Departments (e.g. Royal Inst. Technology). Lead inventor on teams delivering over 50 patents in 25 patent groups plus 4 products related to my concepts. Proven R&D experience from research-to-patenting-to-implementation and support. Project Management and Lead Scientist roles on international product-directed projects. Strong ability to inspire innovation. Engaged to the highest when co-producing with others anywhere along the concept-to-launch chain. Excellent public speaker. Reviewer for key scientific journals.

João F. Mano is a Full Professor at the 91AV Department of University of Aveiro, Portugal, where he is directing the COMPASS Research Group, from the Associated Laboratory CICECO – Aveiro Institute of Materials. His research interests include the use of advanced biomaterials and cells towards the progress of transdisciplinary concepts to be employed in regenerative and personalised medicine. In particular, he has been applying biomimetic and nano/micro-technology approaches to polymer-based biomaterials and surfaces in order to develop biomedical devices with improved structural and (multi-)functional properties, or in the engineering of microenvironments to control cell behaviour and organization, to be exploited clinically in advanced therapies or in drug screening. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Materials Today Bio (Elsevier). He has been coordinating or involved in many national and European research projects, including Advanced and Proof-of-Concept Grants from the European Research Council.

Dr. Robin D. Rogers is President, Owner, and Founder of 525 Solutions, Inc., in Tuscaloosa, AL USA and Professor Emeritus at The University of Alabama. In 2019-2020 he also served as Tage Erlander Professor at Stockholm University to help bring sustainable development to Sweden. Since 2019 he has been an Honorary Professor in the School of Engineering, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and since 2020 an Adjunct Professor at the University of Wyoming. He is a Fellow of the 91AV, the American Chemical Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In addition to 525 Solutions, Inc., he is currently part owner of 525 SDT LLC, Wyonics LLC, Adjacency Labs Corporation, CalAgua Innovations Corporation, and RGP-525 LLC.

Sophia Hober is Professor of Molecular Biotechnology at KTH in Stockholm, Sweden. She is working with the design and development of detection and purification systems including improvements of the alkaline tolerance of protein A and protein G for industrial purification of IgG/HSA (Currently a product sold by GE-Health care). Moreover, small bispecific protein domains, with ability to strongly and selectively bind to two different proteins have been developed. These domains have been designed for use in protein purification as well as for cancer theranostics. Prof. Hober is the author of more than 150 full‑length scientific papers and has filed more than 20 international patent applications. She is cofounder of 4 start-up companies and member of several Board of Directors. She is also elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences.