Farid Talebnia Rowshan, Ph.D., has joined the University of Oklahoma as an assistant professor in the School of Sustainable Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and as the inaugural director of the OU Bioprocessing Core Facility.
Funded through the Oklahoma Biotech Innovation Cluster initiative, which received $35 million through the Build Back Better Regional Challenge of the U.S. Economic Development Administration in 2022, the OU Bioprocessing Core Facility is designed to support education and research for the growing biopharmaceutical industry in Oklahoma.
“The main objective is to train students and give them hands-on experience with the technology and the equipment being used in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries,” Talebnia Rowshan said. “This sector is growing quite fast in Oklahoma and in neighboring states. There is an urgent need for a qualified workforce. This facility will resemble biomanufacturing workflows that will give students a good understanding of what happens in these industries.”
Talebnia Rowshan is developing a certificate program to help students understand the biomanufacturing process and apply the theoretical knowledge they learn through their Gallogly College of Engineering coursework.
“We hope that the certificates will provide students with a much deeper understanding of biomanufacturing – what's happening in biopharmaceutical and biotech industries so that our students will be job-ready upon graduation,” he said.
The facility will also serve graduate students in doctorate and medical research fields and will be integrated with the Oklahoma Bioscience Startup Programs and Biotech Incubator, another of the OBIC projects, which fosters rapid pilot scale manufacturing and technology transfer.
Talebnia Rowshan has deep expertise in the biotechnology and biomanufacturing industry. His research interests include applying bioprocess engineering to develop technological solutions to address environmental, nutritional and other health challenges. He received his doctorate in biochemical engineering from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, a master’s degree from Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran Polytechnic, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tehran. Visit his faculty page to learn more about his research.
The OU Bioprocessing Core Facility is expected to open in 2024.
