Abhijit Singh Bhatia Resume

ABHIJIT SINGH BHATIA 1814 10th Street # 5, Santa Monica, California, 90404 (323) 527-3440 [email protected] OBJECTIVE: A career in Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical Industry. EDUCATION: Master of Science in Chemical Engineering Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio Area of study: Soft tissue Biomechanics and viscoelasticity; GPA: 3.5/4.0

10/04

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering S.L.Institute of Engineering & Technology, Longowal, Punjab, India Area of study: Polymer Science Specialization; GPA: 3.81/4.0

06/02

WORK EXPERIENCE: AMGEN INC. - Thousand Oaks, California Sr. Associate, Sustained Release Pharmaceutics

07/05- Present

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Designed and developed Novel Multi-stage spray dryer for generating micro particles for the controlled release of pharmaceutics.

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Worked with PROENGINEER to design multi staged spray dryer and with FLUENT (computational fluid dynamics software) to simulate the drying of micro particles in the spray dryer. Redesigned second version of multi staged spray dryer using PROENGINEER. Developed methods to analyze peptides and proteins using HPLC.

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 Designed an excel spreadsheet to calculate heat and mass balance for the multi stage  

spray dryer. Designed scale – up unit for the multi stage spray dryer. Spray dried PLGA microparticles on the pilot scale spray dryer unit.

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Interfaced with machinist and manufacturers for machined parts and peripheral components (HEPA filter, Regenerative vacuum filter, Clean in Place system) for spray dryer.

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Identified, formulated, and spray dried peptides and protein (Pegfilgrastim, BSA) microparticles on the multi stage spray dryer.

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Performed In Vitro Release (IVR) test to see burst, particle size analysis using Malvern mastersizer, residual solvent analysis using head space gas chromatograph, surface and internal morphology using SEM on peptide and protein microparticles.

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Spray dried BSA-starch core particles on the Lab-Scale Spray Dryer to be coated on fluidized bed coater.

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Designed and assembled a system to integrate Vibrating Orifice Aerosol Generator (VOAG) and La-vision high speed camera system (to view microparticles from the spray)

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Generated monodispersed droplets of protein PLGA suspension using the Orifice Aerosol Generator (VOAG).

Children Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California Research and Development Design Engineer  

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12/03 – 07/05

Designing for manufacturing: Designed and got manufactured various bioreactors used for tissue engineering. Designed and developed clamping devices and water bath tank (for INSTRON machine) using PROENGINEER and RHINOCEROS. Designed (using PROENGINEER) and supervised the fabrication of Durability Tester used for testing durability of bioprosthetic valves. Worked closely with MEDTRONIC Inc. Santa Ana in transferring durability tester technology to Heart Valve Lab. Interfaced PROENGINEER with Automatic Dynamic Incremental Numerical Analysis (ADINA – Computational modeling tools). Worked with Finite element analysis tools. Developed protocols and performed mechanical testing of aortic valve tissues. Routinely interfaced with manufacturers for the successful manufacture of research related parts Analyzed glycosaminoglycan (GAG) types and quantity using Uronic acid assay and Fluoraphoreassisted carbohydrate Electrophoresis (FACE).

Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 01/03-12/03 Research Assistant (Master Thesis): The effect of hydration on the viscoelastic properties of aortic valve tissue.

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Scope of research was the investigation of the role, that glycosoaminoglycans (GAG’s) and hydration play in valve tissue viscoelasticity. Techniques employed included: tissue digestion,

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uronic acid assay, Fluoraphore-Assisted Carbohydrate Electrophoresis (FACE), and the equilibration of cusps in swelling and deswelling solutions during mechanical testing. Submitted paper on thesis to Annals of Biomedical Engineering. Developed virtual instruments in Lab View to mechanically test heart valve tissue.

Project: Characterization of Knee meniscus using polarized light microscopy: Scope of this project included observing collagen orientation and cell motion during wound healing in the meniscus of the knee. S.L. Institute of Engineering & Technology, Longowal, Punjab, India 06/1999-6/02 Honors Research Project: Title: Development of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) waste based aromatic polyurethane (PU) and its kinetic study. Scope of this research included the development of aromatic polyurethane from recycled PET bottles by varying kinetic conditions and reaction times of de-polymerization. Project: Designed heat exchanger for chemical processes. Super steel and Plastics Inc., Haryana, India 05/1998-05/1999 Manufactured Polypropylene bags and tubes, Low Density Polyethylene bags using Single and twin screw extruders. Internships: Ballarpur Industries Ltd., Haryana, India 06/01-07/01 Summer trainee – calculated the overall energy & mass balance of caustic soda chlorine plant (section) Bharat Starch Mill, Haryana, India Summer trainee – involved in the project to optimize the production of corn oil.

06/00-07/00

Ballarpur Industries Ltd., Haryana, India 07/01-12/01 Trainee –  Involved in project to design and optimize operations at a caustic soda chlorine plant. Participated team problem solving.  Design & optimization of pentaerythiritol plant. TECHNICAL SKILLS Computer skills: Experience with numerous engineering programs such as: Pro Engineer, Solid works, Rhinoceros, Lab view, FLUENT (computational fluid dynamics software), AutoCAD, ChemCAD, Matlab, Mathematica, Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Office, Automatic Dynamic Incremental Numerical Analysis (ADINA), Microsoft Visio Professional. Biological Laboratory Skills: Experience with numerous testing procedures such as: In Vitro Release Assay (IVR), CHN Load determination assay, Uronic Acid Assay, Fluorophore Assisted Carbohydrate Electrophoresis (FACE), and Hydroxyprolene (Collagen) Assay. Staining techniques: Pico Sirius Red, Hematoxylin and Eosin, Movat Chemical Laboratory Skills: Experience with many analytical instruments including: Gas chromatography Analyzer, Malvern Mastersizer, High Performance Liquid chromotographer (HPLC), IR spectrometers, Spectrophotometers, Rheometers, Instron material testing system, Differential scanning calorimeters (DSC), Thermogravimeteric analyzers (TGMA), Thermal Mechanical Analyzer (TMA), Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), Polarized Light Microscope, Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Scanning Electron microscope (SEM), Fluorescence microscope, Buchi-290 spray dryer. Engineering Laboratory Skills: Experience operating lab-size: Distillation column, Injection molding machine, Pressurized batch reactor, Compression molding machine, Extrusion molding machine Professional courses:  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Advances in Controlled Release Technology: Polymeric Delivery Systems for Pharmaceuticals, Proteins and Other Agents [20.02s]  University of Minnesota: Aerosol and Particle measurement short course  University of Wisconsin(Madison): Atomization and Spray technology course  University of Wisconsin(Madison): Dryer technology course  Fluent Inc. ( New Hampshire): Fluent (Computational Fluid Dynamics training course) Patents & Papers:

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Patent application submitted for Design and Development of Novel Laboratory Scaled three-staged spray dryer.

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Submitted a paper article: “A Three Stage Spray Dryer for Laboratory-Scale Production of Microparticles for Sustained Release Applications” for publication in an internal Journal at Amgen.

References available on request