The Division of Biochemical Technology of the American Chemical Society (ACS) has named Andrew Zydney, Bayard D. Kunkle Chair and professor of chemical engineering at Penn State, as the 2019 recipient of the Alan S. Michaels Award in the Recovery of Biological Products. The award recognizes outstanding research and practice contributions in the field of the recovery of biological products, which refers to the process of purifying vaccines and other biopharmaceuticals as part of downstream bioprocessing. Zydney will receive the award at the ACS National Meeting, set for March 31 to April 4, 2019, in Orlando, Florida.

Zydney is receiving the award based on his lifetime contributions to a field that has high importance for human health care. When a biologically derived drug is developed for treating cancer, immune disorders, and other diseases, it is made from genetically engineered mammalian cells that are specifically designed to produce complex biomolecules that attack the disease in various ways, depending on the disease type. They also need to be highly purified because they are injectable drugs that bypass most of the natural protections against foreign proteins, microorganisms, and viruses… Continue reading.