Views of BIDP... 4 Oct 2013

When Dr Leong made contact to ask if I was happy to come back to deliver the Downstream course again this year, I quickly jumped at the opportunity to participate yet again in this BIDP programme together with HAT and Talentcorp Malaysia. 

I was looking forward to this trip all summer for some proper warm weather (note the grey skies…), the yummy food and especially as my family was coming back to Malaysia too! But most importantly, the course…

This year, I decided to pack a bit more Mathematics (apologies Mar) into the course. This, I felt was necessary, so that one is able to describe and understand Downstream Bioprocessing unit operations from fundamental principles to include an appreciation for the assumptions and limits of given models.  So, my “itchy fingers” set off to work to update the slides. So, Day 1 – I arrived at IPharm and this was going to be my “home” for the next 3-days. 

IPharm, Penang!

Right from the onset, I immediately felt a warm welcome and connection with this cohort – not only because of my namesake. The diverse background (biotechnology, biochemistry, engineering, microbiology, plant biology, etc) and industrial participants made up an interesting cohort. Over the next three days, we went on a journey from an overview (insulin as a case study), some basic chemical engineering principles (fluid mechanics and heat & mass transfers) to downstream bioprocessing (cell disruption, filtration, centrifugation, chromatography, crystallisation, drying) and wrapped up with discussions about sustainability! I personally enjoyed the derivations but I guess I am only speaking for a select few (hopefully more). So, I am very appreciative (a big thank you!) to all of you for bearing with me and following step-by-step along the way - hopefully the key concept is registered and cemented in your mind now.  

Honestly for me, the most important aspect of this whole programme is you, the participants! 

BIDP II Batch 1 - Pharma track 

In the short space of the 3 days we interacted, I quickly appreciated TalentCorp and HAT’s initiative – to train our next generation of scientists and engineers who would be leading our bio-industry in Malaysia. You have the talent and ability plus the opportunity.  As they say, the world is your oyster! 

In summary, you all made my role as instructor an easy one and very enjoyable (and also a great family holiday). So, thank you very much!

Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end… and I am now back in London – early signs of the autumn now.

Do keep in touch and very best wishes in all your undertakings.

Written by:  Jerry Heng

All The Way From London..

4 Jan 2013

Happy New Year to all BIDP participants! It has been almost 5 months now since we discussed Downstream Bioprocessing, and I certainly hope that you still do recollect the basic principles/fundamentals I taught. I was recently asked to provide some of my personal views by none other than your class monitor Mel. 

Looking back, four things stood out which I would like to comment on – missing much of the 2012 Olympics, this course and the programme, the Penang local food and of course – the participants (in no particular order).  

Just prior to leaving London, the Olympics was into its first week and a number of key medals was on offer. I was dismayed to watch our Malaysian doubles lose their bronze medal game, following on with Datuk Lee’s game (vs Lin Dan) on the BBC and listening in to Usain Bolt’s 100m run on the radio just as the plane was taking off! The games… well, I gave that up for the BIDP programme and as you will see later was definitely worth it, despite my luggage not arriving with me!

My personal opinion is that the programme is very well structured and planned. The scientific content is very relevant and participants will benefit greatly from the initiative put together in this Bio-Analytical Industry Development Program (BIDP) as supported by TalentCorp Malaysia. I felt that one of the unique features of this programme was that participants were drawn from various science background (biochemists, chemists, engineers, etc) and were yet able to grasp the key concepts (yes, for those without 

math… then the wiggly symbols of d’s written in italics or up-side-down triangles was a bit off-putting). Our course on Downstream Bioprocessing was a rather broad topic, with many items to discuss over the 3-day period. Some Chemical Engineering concepts were necessary – so many thanks for 

bearing with me as I tried to explain mass transfer mechanisms to Reynolds number, Darcy’s Law and Stoke’s Law, etc… (appropriately adopting names for your groups; Team Darcy, Team Reynolds, Shear Genuis, in addition to Chai2 and UptownGirls). 

A number of social activities involving eating and Penang food was organised by the group. As it was Ramadan, the group also organised a breaking of fast at a Chinese-Muslim restaurant, which was very enjoyable. I was in Penang only for 4 days but was able to try quite a number of the local delicacies.

Penang food

Oh yes, I have not mentioned about the most important aspect of the programme – you, the participants! It is evident to me that you all are very talented and capable, grasping key theories/laws quickly and with great ability in reasoning and describing new concepts accurately with much confidence. Your communication skills and working as a team is commendable. I thought the game on our last day just demonstrated the multi-talent/skills. 

In summary, you all made my role much easier and this assignment a very enjoyable one for me (so nevermind the Olympics).  Do keep in touch and very best wishes in all your undertakings.

In and out of class sessions

                                                                                                                     

                                                                                      Written by: Jerry Heng

Dr Jerry Heng

(Instructor for Understanding Quality Control Checkpoints in Downstream Bioprocessing)

Dr. Jerry Heng has a PhD in Chemical Engineering (2006) from Imperial College London and is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK since 2007. He heads the Surfaces and Particle Engineering Laboratory (SPEL) at Imperial College London. He is very much involved in the research of pharmaceutical particle engineering, physio-chemical properties characterisation of solids, and processing (milling, spray/freeze-drying) of organic solids (pharmaceuticals and proteins) and protein crystallisation for downstream bioprocessing.