The Systems Research Institute (SRI) for Chemical and Biological
Processes, established in 2004 under the direction of
Dr. Christos Georgakis,
aims to foster interdepartmental research among
researchers in engineering, the sciences and the medical
community.
The Institute's long-term mission includes:
- Fostering research initiatives in modeling, optimization and operation of
chemical and biological systems and processes;
- Cultivating inter-disciplinary academic collaborations with
other Tufts departments and schools, as well as neighboring universities;
- Develop strong industrial interactions.
The Institute's first initiative, the
Industrial Consortium on Batch Manufacturing
of Pharmaceuticals and Chemicals (BMPC), is currently in development.
The Consortium is a cooperative research program that will focus on improving
the development, design, and operation of batch pharmaceutical and chemical
processes, with the ultimate goal of reducing in half the time it takes to
design new processes. The Consortium will bring together leading pharmaceutical and
chemical companies to define and support research that will ultimately benefit
all member companies. Initial research areas encompass designing batch
reactors for multi-step synthesis; enantiomeric and polymorphic crystallizations;
plant-wide simulations, scale-up and process sensitivities; and statistical
process monitoring and process control that will effectively contribute to the
implementation of the FDA's Process Analytical Technology Initiative.
Future Institute initiatives, collaborations and research areas include on-line
monitoring and control during anesthesia (pharmacokinetic modeling, systems
physiology and feedback control); dynamic modeling of metabolic pathways;
optimal operation of bioreactors for new drugs; and multi-scale modeling.
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