Digital Twins Applications to the Design and Optimization of Bioprocesses

Christoph Herwig is a Full Professor of Biochemical Engineering at the Vienna University of Technology (Austria), with a background in Bioprocess Engineering from the RWTH Aachen (Germany) and Ph.D. in Bioprocess Identification at the EPFL (Switzerland). Prior to his Ph.D. graduation, he has also worked in industry in the design and commissioning of large chemical facilities. His main research focuses on the development of data science methods for integrated and efficient bioprocess development along PAT and QbD principles for biopharmaceuticals. In 2013 he founded the company Exputec addressing data science solutions for the biopharma life cycle, which was fused in Körber AG in 2020.

Ralf Pörtner studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Dortmund (Germany), and received his Ph.D. at the Department of Mechanical Process Engineering of the same university. After a post-doctoral study at the University of Tsukuba (Japan), he took on the role of Senior Engineer and Head of the working group "Cell Culture and Tissue Engineering" at the Technical University of Hamburg (Germany). Since 2010 he is Honorary Professor at TH Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences, Giessen (Germany). He is currently one of the coordinators of the research focus "Regeneration, Implants and Medical Technology" of the Technical University of Hamburg (Germany), and member of the directorate of the Research Center Medical Technology (FMTHH). His main research activities include the development of bioreactors, in particular for cell cultures and microbial reactions, as well as model-based control concepts, and tissue engineering.

Johannes Möller  studied Bioprocess Engineering at the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH), Germany, where he did his Ph.D. and worked as a scientist at the Institute of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering (Head: Prof. An-Ping Zeng). His research focuses on accelerated and knowledge-driven bioprocess design and optimization using novel statistical and computational methods. The main areas of interest are: Biosystems Engineering, software development for model-assisted bioprocess development and experimental design, and computational methods for bioprocess characterization and control. Since 2020, he joined a pharmaceutical company where he is responsible for the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, and he has also worked as an external scientist at TUHH.