Biotechnology & Bioprocess Engineering
Biotechnology is any technique that uses living organisms to make or modify products, to improve plants or animals, or develop microorganisms for specific uses. Bioprocess Engineering is the application of engineering principles to the analysis, design, and development of bio-based products or bioprocesses. Combining the two, application areas of biotechnology & bioprocess engineering include the commercial production of biopharmaceuticals, sustainable chemicals & fuels, food ingredients, and much more.
During your first semester, you will build a strong foundation in biotechnology & bioprocess engineering in both the classroom & laboratory through core coursework in Biochemical Engineering. You will gain exposure to different applications of bioprocess engineering through in-class examples, invited speakers, field trips, and other networking opportunities. You will also customize your MBPE experience with electives from a wide range of approved options spanning Bioengineering, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Molecular and Cell Biology, Public Health, and more.
In your second semester, you will continue the Biochemical Engineering series and begin the Advanced Bioprocess Engineering curriculum of capstone courses. You will learn how to apply Quality by Design (QbD), statistical experimental design, and other advanced topics from leading biotech companies. You will also gain hands-on experience in pilot-scale bioprocess unit operations at the Advanced Biofuels & Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) in Emeryville. You will continue to gain exposure to different applications of bioprocess engineering through in-class examples, invited speakers, field trips, and other networking opportunities.
Core MBPE Coursework
The foundation of UC Berkeley's Master's of Bioprocess Engineering (MBPE) program is a two-semester curriculum consisting of a common core of lecture, bench-, and pilot-scale laboratory courses combined with electives tailored to individual career objectives. This is further supported by invited seminars, site visits, and networking events spanning the biotech industry.
CHMENG 170 Biochemical Engineering Lecture & Laboratory Series
The CHMENG 170 A, B, and L series of courses is designed to introduce the essential concepts of bioprocessing to chemical engineers for applications in the biopharmaceutical, industrial biotech, and food tech industries. The emphasis of the 170A lecture course (taught in the Fall semester) is on living cells, the bio-based products they make, and how to build processes around them (ex. fermentation, cell culture). The focus of the 170B lecture course (taught in the Spring semester) is primarily on the recovery, separations, and purification of bio-based products. The 170L laboratory provides hands-on opportunities to translate fundamentals learned in 170A and 170B to meaningful applications. The combined curriculum provides a comprehensive biochemical engineering training and toolkit in the analysis, design, development, scale-up, and commercialization of bio-based processes & products.
CHMENG 170 A / B "Pet Biomolecule" Term Projects
As part of the CHMENG 170A & 170B curriculum, each semester our students are assigned group term projects around a "pet biomolecule". The goal of this project is for groups of 3-4 students to translate the fundamentals & unit operations that they have learned throughout the semester into a meaningful, bio-based process & product (and an example work product that they can take with them to demonstrate their learnings, get a job, etc.). Each semester's projects span the breadth of the biopharmaceutical, industrial biotech, and food tech industries with therapeutics, bio-based chemicals, and food ingredients. At the end of the semester, we hold a special presentation of their "pet biomolecule" term project posters for members of the Bay Area & Sacramento Valley biotech community. Participating companies include AbbVie, ADM, Amyris, Antheia, Bayer, Bionova Scientific, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead, Givaudan, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), Lonza, Merck, Oobli, UPSIDE Foods, Vaxcyte, and more.
CHMENG 275 Advanced Bioprocess Engineering Lecture & Laboratory Series
The CHMENG 275 series of courses is designed to introduce advanced concepts of bioprocessing to chemical engineers for applications in the biopharmaceutical, industrial biotech, and food tech industries. The emphasis of the 275 lecture course is on the integrated application of quality by design (QbD) framework, statistical experimental design, and other advanced concepts addressing current industry needs. This course is co-taught by MBPE Industrial Advisory Board members & biotech industry leaders from AbbVie, Amgen, Amyris, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, Gilead, and UPSIDE Foods.
The 275L laboratory provides hands-on opportunities to translate fundamentals learned in 170A, 170B, and 275 to meaningful pilot-scale unit operations and bioprocess applications. Taught at the Advanced Biofuels & Bioproducts Process Development Unit (ABPDU) in nearby Emeryville, this unique pilot-scale lab course features training and experiments with the Sartorius Ambr250, ABEC 300L bioreactor, Alfa Laval disc stack centrifuge, Alfa Laval M20 filtration skid, and Cytiva ÄKTA Avant chromatography unit.
CHMENG 298B Seminar in Bioprocess Engineering
As a companion to the CHEMENG 170 & 275 lecture and lab series, this seminar course is meant to serve as an interactive interface between our students and the biopharma, industrial biotech, and food tech industries our aspiring bioprocess engineering and scientists wish to join. Each week industry speakers are invited to talk about their processes, products & professional pathways. Alternatively, we also use this time for site visits to companies across the Bay Area & Sacramento Valley biotech communities.
Electives
To complement the core MBPE coursework, our students can choose up to three elective courses spanning Bioengineering (BIOENG), Chemistry (CHEM), Chemical Engineering (CHMENG), Molecular & Cell Biology (MCELLBI), Public Health (PBHLTH), and more. A few popular examples:
- BIOENG 202 Cell Engineering
- BIONG 247 Principles of Synthetic Biology
- BIOENG 252 Clinical Need-Based Therapy Solutions
- CHEM 135 Chemical Biology
- ENGIN 183C Challenge Laboratory: Alt Meat Product Design of Plant-Based Foods
- MCELLBI 150 Molecular Immunology
- MCELLBI 153 Molecular Medicine
- PBLHLTH 142 Introduction to Probability & Statistics in Biology & Public Health
- PBHLTH 209B Plant Futures
- PBHLTH 236 US FDA, Drug Development & Public Health
