Department staff
Professor Christopher J. Hewitt CBiol CEng CSci FIBiol FIChemE
Professor of Biological Engineering
- Tel
- +44 (0)1509 222506
- c.j.hewitt@lboro.ac.uk
Background
Chris graduated with a first class honours degree in Microbiology from Royal Holloway College, University of London in 1990. He then went to the University of Birmingham to study for his Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering where he worked on the synthesis of alpha-amylase by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens under the supervision of Professor Gerald Solomons.
Chris stayed at Birmingham for a further 13 years first as Lecturer then Senior Lecturer, developing his research work at the Life Science/Engineering interface. In October 2006, Chris came to Loughborough University to take up a new chair in Biological Engineering and is now busy developing Loughborough's Centre for Biological Engineering (CBE), of which he is co-founder.
Professional affiliations
- Chartered Engineer
- Chartered Biologist
- Chartered Scientist
- Fellow of the Society of Biology
- Fellow of the Institution of Chemical Engineers
External appointments (since 2000)
- Chairman of the Biochemical Engineering Subject Group Committee of the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
- Member of the Steering Committee of the BBSRC Bioprocessing Research Industries Club (BRIC) since March 2010.
- Executive Editor for Biotechnology Letters.
- Subject Editor and Member of the Editorial Board of Transactions IChemE, Part C: Food and Bioproducts Processing (Institution of Chemical Engineers).
- Member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology.
- External examiner for the MSc course in Advanced Chemical Engineering in the School of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science Manchester University since October 2008.
- External Examiner for the MSc course in Biotechnology in the School of Life and Health Sciences Aston University since October 2008.
- External Examiner for the MSc course in Biological and Bioprocess Engineering in the Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Sheffield University since October 2008.
Research interests and activities
- Stem cell bioprocessing
- Flow cytometry and cell sorting - understanding the interaction of the cell with the process engineering environment
- Fermentation and cell culture
- Scale-up
- Mixing in the bioprocess industries
- Development of non-invasive analytical techniques
Invited and keynote lectures (since 2007)
- Larger scale expansion of human mesenchymal stem cells on microcarriers. Scale-up and Manufacturing of Cell-Based Therapies. 11-12 January 2012, San Diego, USA.
- The scale-up of human embryonic stem cell culture. Bioprocessing, Biologics and Biotherapeutics Congress 20-21 July 2011 Edinburgh.
- Challenges for stem cell bioprocessing – scale-up or scale-out? UKNSCN 4th Annual Science Meeting 30 March – 1 April 2011, York
- Introduction to Regenerative Medicine bioprocessing ESACT-UK 2010 20 Annual Meeting 6 -7 January 2010, Loughborough, UK .
- From basic bioscience to large-scale production. SMi conference Biological Production 2009 – Manufacturing’s role in delivering affordable biological medicines. 21 – 22 September 2009 London, UK.
- Regenerative medicine: New therapies for a new generation. 5th GHP/UKCPA Joint National Conference, 15 - 17 May 2009, Leicester, UK.
- Single cell analysis for informing bioprocess development. XI Iberian Society of Cytometry, Covilhã, Portugal, 7-9 May 2009.
Organising /Scientific Committee of International Conferences
- Chairman of the organising committee of the SGM Autumn Meeting 2011, University of York, 5-7 September 2011.
- Chairman of the organising committee of the SGM Spring Meeting 2011, Harrogate International Conference Centre, 11-14 April 2011.
- Chairman of the organising committee of the SGM Autumn Meeting 2010, Metals and Microbes. Nottingham University Jubilee Campus, Nottingham University, 6-9 September 2010
- Chairman of the IOM3 symposium on Industrial Uses of Bacteria 19 May 2010, IOM3, London, UK.
Links
Doctoral Training Centre Regenerative Medicine.
Centre for Biological Engineering