Biotechnology Research and Education Program

Staff Biographies

Barney "Ben" Woodard
Director, Bioprocess Scale-Up Facility (BSF)

Profile

• Experienced laboratory manager with over eight years of fermentation experience.

• Bachelors of Science degree in biology from the University of Maryland.

• cGMP certification through Bio Science Contract Corporation.

• Able to serve as a participant, facilitator or leader of both large and small groups.

• Proven communication, organizational, management and problem solving skills.

Experience

• Project manager for over forty-five projects annually with an annual budget of over $200,000.

• Supervision:

• Responsible for laboratory and project budgets, than included fundraising and financial
  planning.

• Hired, managed and trained technicians, postdoctoral assistants and graduate students.

• Coordinate bioprocessing projects for local and national research companies.

• Evaluated and implemented chances in biotechnology process doubling revenues in
  fermentation.

• Augment funds for new equipment, laboratory expansions, renovations and
  improvements.

• Oversee financial aspects of company

• Administration:

  • Administer client interaction to meet specific fermentation and purification needs.

  • Coordinated a plan to renovate existing laboratory to comply with cGLP

  • Maintain a current knowledge of existing laws and regulations pertinent to biotechnology field.

  • Design and implementation of protocols and SOP's

  • Creation of undergraduate laboratory for biotechnology for University of Maryland.

  • Review and recommend proposals for the Maryland Industrial Partnerships awards.

  • Maintain working inventory of laboratory consumables.

  • Founded company to produce and sell live yeast cultures for microbrewery applications.

• Technical:

• Operate pilot scale fermentors of 500L, 250L, 150L, 40L, 20L, 14L, 5L

• Responsible for facilities maintenance, purchasing and equipment installation.

• Product purification through column chromatography, HPLC, ultrafiltration, continuous centrifuge, tangential flow filtration and western blot.

• Installation of 250L Abec fermentor and creation of SOP for proper usage.

• Department of Chemical Engineering Safety Officer

• Isolation and sterile maintenance of over 25 strains of S. cervisea

• Communication:

• Complement faculty researchers with industrial clients.

• Assist teaching chemical engineering laboratory, biological process engineering and biochemical engineering laboratory undergraduate classes.

• Coordinate company expansion into biotechnology with addition of several new clients

• Report directly to the director and associate dean the monthly status of the financial conditions of the facility.

Work History

• Manager, University of Maryland, Bioprocess Scale-Up Facility (BSF): 1998- Present

• Faculty Research Assistant, University of Maryland, BSF: 1997-1998

• Consultant, Paragon Bioservices Inc., Baltimore, Maryland: 1997- Present

• President/ Founder, Yeastek, Inc., College Park, Maryland: 1996-1998

• Fermentation Technician, University of Maryland, BSF: 1995-1997
  

Education

BACHELORS OF SCIENCE, Biology with focus in Economics 1997
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland

Affiliations/Certifications

• Society of Industrial Microbiology

• Kappa Alpha Order, Faculty Advisor, Past President, Past Programs Director

• American Coaching Effectiveness Program Certified

• Completion of cGMP training modules from BioScience Contract Production Corporation (Cambrex)

Presentations/Workshops

• "Bacterial Fermentation," Guest Lecturer, Biotechnology Training Course, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt

• "Fermentation in the 21st Century," Guest Lecturer, Informational Seminar, SAIC

• "Microbiology and biotechnology," Guest Lecturer, Undergraduate Microbiology Course, University of Maryland

• Faculty Presenter/ Instructor, Fermentation Microbiology Workshop, University of Maryland

• "Yeast Culturing Techniques," Guest Lecturer, Home brewing Seminar, ATCC

• "Effects of agitation and pH on ethanol production of Saccharomyces cervisea," Lecturer, Undergraduate Microbiology Course, University of Maryland

• "Biotechnology Basics," Guest Lecturer, Maryland Day, University of Maryland

• "Project Management: How to complete Projects On Time, On Budget and On Target," University of Maryland Personal Development Course

• "Managing and Motivating Generation X," University of Maryland Personal Development Course

• "Motivating Today's Workforce," University of Maryland Personal Development Course

• "Negotiating Conflict At Work," University of Maryland Personal Development Course