Richard D. Braatz

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Wednesday, October 07, 2026, 16:15 - 17:30

"Aula, Kollegiengebäude I, Platz der Universität 3 , D-79098 Freiburg, Germany"

Abstract : This talk describes a new two-stage process for the automated, controlled continuous manufacturing of mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles. The talk begins with a summary of the commercial technologies for the manufacturing of these nanoparticles and their weaknesses in terms of mixing time scales. A two-stage process is defined which substantially improves micromixing while providing an additional variable for the control of the nanoparticle size and morphology. After demonstrating enhanced control including the use of Bayesian optimization, the talk concludes with progress in the building of mechanistic and machine learning-based models for the continuous manufacturing of lipid nanoparticles. While the experimental results are for mRNA-loaded lipid nanoparticles, the new process applied to the loading of any biotherapeutic molecule or macromolecular assembly, and the modeling and control methods are largely applicable to the manufacturing of other types of nano- and microparticles. This work is in collaboration with Profs. Allan Myerson and Bernhardt Trout at MIT.

Short Biography: Dr. Richard D. Braatz is the Edwin R. Gilliland Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, where he conducts research into advanced biopharmaceutical manufacturing systems. In this role, he leads process data analytics, mechanistic modeling, and control systems for several projects on campus, including those focused on monoclonal antibody, viral vaccine, and gene therapy manufacturing. Dr. Braatz received an M.S. and Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology and was the Millennium Chair and Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University before moving to MIT.

Dr. Braatz has collaborated with more than 20 companies including Novartis, Pfizer, Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Biogen, Amgen, Takeda, and Abbott Labs. Honors include the AIChE PD2M Award for Outstanding Contribution to QbD for Drug Substance, the AIChE Excellence in Process Development Research Award, the Technical Innovation Award from the International Society of Automation, and the IEEE Control Systems Society Transition to Practice Award. He has published over 200 papers and three books, including Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Industrial Systems. Dr. Braatz is a Fellow of IEEE, IFAC, AIChE, and AAAS and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering.

Registration (free of charge): for better planning of the event and the (alcohol free) reception, please confirm your planned participation at the following link (before Oct. 6 evening):

https://cloud.syscop.de/apps/forms/s/KxtCzfyqHGy7Xi7Y7FwcT6GF