Stefano Menegatti

Associate Professor at North Carolina State University

Speaker

Prof. Menegatti has earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at NC State University in 2013, with a project on affinity purification of protein therapeutics using peptide affinity ligands (advisor: Dr. Ruben Carbonell). After 2 years as a postdoctoral fellow working on drug delivery technology in the group directed by Dr. Samir Mitragotri at UCSB (now Harvard University), Dr. Menegatti rejoined the Department Chemical Engineering at NC State University as an assistant professor in 2015. Dr. Menegatti has made key contributions in bioseparations: he has introduced the new paradigm of “affinity flow-through chromatography” for continuous purification of therapeutic antibodies; he has invented and patented single-use adsorbents for plasma fractionation, and purification of CRISPR-Cas nucleases and other therapeutic proteins; he has developed novel, rapid at-line assays to support continuous bioprocessing; and designed novel biomaterials for drug delivery and tissue engineering. This intense research activity has translated into numerous impactful publications, patents, and invited lectures in universities and industries. Prof. Menegatti is highly recognized by the academic and the industrial communities alike, and has established a broad network of collaborations with distinguished scholars across three continents (US, Europe, and Australia). He also leads joint research projects with and consults for global companies including Merck & co., Genentech, Merck KGaa, CSL Behring, Millipore Sigma, KBI Biopharma, Johnson and Johnson, and Eastman Chemical Company. He was the key contributor to the $27M AIM-Bio research institute funded in 2019 by the Novo Foundation (https://news.ncsu.edu/2019/08/future-of-biomanufacturing/). Dr. Menegatti has also established himself as a successful entrepreneur, pursuing the translation of his technology to broaden the access of patients to advanced biological therapies. His IP portfolio has been licensed to private companies - such as LigaTrap, for which he serves as main scientific advisor - and is now being converted into commercial products. Prof. Menegatti is actively engaged in a number of outreach activities in North Carolina: he co-chairs the Triangle Soft Matter Symposium, and collaborates with the NC Biotech Center, the NC Center of Innovation Network, and the UNC Institute for Convergent Science.