Keynote
Alexei Lapkin, University of Cambridge
Title: From heuristics and intuition to algorithmic development of robust flow chemistry processes
Alexei Lapkin studied biochemistry at Novosibirsk State University and then completed his PhD in Catalytic Reaction Engineering at the University of Bath. He began his academic career at the University of Bath, focusing on catalytic reaction engineering and process intensification, then moved to the University of Warwick, shifting attention more on sustainability of chemical processes. Since 2013 he has held a position of Professor of Sustainable Reaction Engineering at the University of Cambridge.
Shu Kobayashi, University of Tokyo
Title: Powerful Flow Synthesis with Heterogeneous Catalysts
Shū Kobayashi studied at the University of Tokyo, receiving his PhD in 1988 under the direction of Professor T. Mukaiyama. He was promoted to lecturer then associate professor at Science University of Tokyo. In 1998, he moved to the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the University of Tokyo, as full professor. In 2007, he was appointed to his current position as professor in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo. His research interests include the development of new synthetic methods and catalysts, organic reactions in water, organometallic chemistry, flow chemistry, and green and sustainable chemistry.
Invited Speakers
Richard Bourne, University of Leeds
Title: Self-Optimising Reactors for Industry 4.0
RAEng Research Chair, Professor of Digital Chemical Manufacturing at University of Leeds. As a Research Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering I am currently focusing on the development of digital technologies for rapid discovery and development of pharmaceuticals. I am interested in the development of new sustainable processes with focus on continuous flow routes to pharmaceutical and fine chemical products. Our group is based within the Institute of Process Research and Development (IPRD).
Renzo Luisi, University of Bari
Title: Flow chemistry as enabling technology for exploring new chemical space and developing sustainable synthetic tactics
Renzo Luisi is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Bari “A. Moro” – Italy. He graduated summa cum laude in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Bari (Italy) in 1996 and received the PhD in Chemical Sciences in 2000. He was appointed Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry in 2005 and Full Professor in 2020. The main research interests rely on organometallic chemistry (mainly organolithium chemistry), Boron, Fluorine and Sulfur chemistry, synthesis and reactivity of small heterocycles, asymmetric synthesis, dynamic NMR spectroscopy. Recently, his research interests shifted towards sustainability in modern synthesis by using flow chemistry and enabling technologies.
Anna Slater, University of Liverpool
Title: Flow for the supramolecular chemist: challenges and opportunities
Anna Slater is a Senior Lecturer and Royal Society University Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool. Exploiting flow processes for enhanced control of chemistry is a central theme of her work, which spans molecular materials, supramolecular chemistry, and sustainable synthesis.
Jean-Christophe Monbaliu, University of Liege
Title: Make nitroso reagents great again
Jean-Christophe M. Monbaliu is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Liège (Belgium). He received his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at the Université catholique de Louvain (2008). After various postdoctoral experiences in Belgium (Ghent University) and in the USA (University of Florida and MIT), he settled at the University of Liège in 2013, where he created the Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis (CiTOS, www.citos.uliege.be). His research group combines new methodologies in synthetic organic chemistry with new process technologies for the development of innovative, sustainable and/or bio-based processes toward high value-added molecules. He serves as Associate Editor of the Journal of Flow Chemistry since 2019.
Marcus Baumann, University College Dublin
Title: Continuous Flow Synthesis of Drug-like Entities Exploiting Photochemistry and High-Energy Intermediates
After graduating from Philipps-University Marburg Marcus Baumann moved to Cambridge for his PhD with Prof. Steven Ley. This was followed by postdoctoral positions at UC Irvine and Durham. In 2017 he joined UC Dublin as an Assistant Professor, where his efforts focus on new continuous flow methods exploiting photochemistry, biocatalysis and high-energy processes.
Cecilia Bottecchia, MSD
Title: Recent flow chemistry efforts at MSD
Cecilia Bottecchia was born in Milan, Italy. In 2014, she received her M.Sc. degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies at the University of Milan. After her undergraduate studies, Cecilia joined the group of Prof. Timothy Noël at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, where she obtained her PhD on the topic of biomolecule functionalization via photocatalysis in continuous‐flow. In 2019, Cecilia joined the flow team at MSD, Rahway (NJ, USA) where she currently works as Associate Principal Scientist. In the past years, Cecilia developed multiple continuous flow methods for process chemistry, including photochemical and electrochemical transformation on multi-kg scale.
Benjamin Martin, Novartis
Title: Recognizing 15 Years of Continuous Academic-Industrial Collaboration to establish Continuous Manufacturing at Novartis
As continuous manufacturing network leader at Novartis Pharma AG, Switzerland (Chemical Development department), Benjamin is ensuring that this technology is providing maximal benefit in the industrial synthesis of pharmaceuticals. After obtaining his PhD in organic chemistry in the UK, and postdocs in France and Switzerland, Benjamin joined the chemical development department at Novartis in 2006. The continuous manufacturing platform was established soon after, and over the years many projects as well as the creation of a GMP pilot-plant facility have been successfully completed.
Dario Cambié, Max-Planck Institute
Title: Digitalization of Chemistry with Automated Flow Platforms
Dario Cambié was born in 1989 and grew up near Bergamo, Italy. He studied Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies at the University of Milan, where he obtained his M.Sc. degree in 2014. He obtained his Ph.D. at the Eindhoven University of Technology in the group of Dr. Timothy Noël, his Ph.D. thesis was on solar photochemistry in continuous flow, developing a novel reactor design called Luminscent Solar Concentrator Photomicroreactor. He is currently a Group Leader at Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces.
Mike George, University of Nottingham
Title: Scalable Continuous Photochemical & Electrochemical Reactions: Reactors and Pat Challenges: From Picoseconds to Tonnes
Mike George received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham in 1987 and 1990, respectively. He remained at Nottingham for a further 18 months as a Postdoctoral Fellow. He was awarded a Royal Society/STA of Japan Postdoctoral Fellowship to work on organic photochemistry with Professor Hiro-o Hamaguchi at the Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology (KAST). He returned to the University of Nottingham as an Experimental Officer (1993) and was appointed to a Lectureship in Inorganic Chemistry in 1998. He was promoted to a chair in 2002.
Alessandra Puglisi, University of Milan
Title: Continuous Flow Technologies: A Powerful Tool for the Synthesis of Chiral Molecules
Alessandra Puglisi obtained her PhD in Industrial Chemistry at Università degli Studi di Milano in 2003. She then moved to Boston College for a post-doctoral fellowship under the supervision of Prof. Amir H. Hoveyda. In 2008 she was appointed Researcher at CNR (National Research Council) and then Assistant Professor at UniMi. Since 2018 she is Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry in UniMi. Her main research interest is the development of novel synthetic methodologies exploiting organocatalysis, photocatalysis and flow chemistry, for the synthesis of chiral molecules.
Timothy Noël, University of Amsterdam
Title: Innovation in synthetic fluorine chemistry through use of flow
Timothy Noël studied Chemical Engineering in Ghent and obtained his PhD in synthetic organic chemistry at the University of Ghent. Next, he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) as a Fulbright Postdoctoral Fellow with Professor Stephen L. Buchwald. Currently, he is a Full Professor at the University of Amsterdam where he is the Chair of Flow Chemistry. His research interests are synthetic organic chemistry and technology, and especially the delicate synergy between these two fields. He is the editor in chief of Journal of Flow Chemistry.
Wei Sun, AstraZeneca
Title: Arene and Benzylic bromination under continuous flow using in-situ generated bromine
Wei Sun completed his Ph.D. with another 4 years postdoctoral fellowship under the supervision of Professor David Harrowven (Southampton 2013 – 2021). His work focused on the thermal, photo and electrochemical reaction under continuous flow. In 2021 Wei Sun joined in AstraZeneca PACT team, working on flow chemistry toward to manufacture.
Brenda Pijper – The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of J&J
Title: Flow chemistry as a key tool for drug discovery: an automated library synthesis platform to increase Fsp3
Brenda Pijper was born in 1996 on a small island called Ameland, in the Netherlands. She obtained her B.Sc. degree at Avans University of Applied Sciences in Chemistry with specialization in food and pharma. As part of her bachelor, she performed 6-month internships at renowned companies such as Janssen Pharmaceutica (BE) and Galapagos (BE). After obtaining the bachelor’s degree (2019) cum laude, she continued with a M.Sc in chemistry focused on research in Chemical Biology at Leiden University. Her master thesis was carried out at the Molecular Physiology group of Prof. Dr. M. van der Stelt. In the thesis she worked towards second generation NAPE-PLD inhibitors. In September 2021 Brenda moved to Toledo in Spain to start as a Ph.D. candidate at the Chemical Technologies group at Janssen Pharmaceutica under supervision of Dr. Jesus Alcazar. The Ph.D is part of the Marie S. Curie ITN network PhotoReAct. Her research is focused on new methodologies in flow photochemistry for library synthesis and High Throughput Experimentation (HTE). In her free time she loves going for hikes with her dog Koji.
Nina Hartrampf, University of Zurich
Title: Flow-based methods for chemical peptide and protein synthesis
Nina Hartrampf studied chemistry and biochemistry at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany) and obtained her Ph.D. in the field of natural product synthesis and chemical biology in the group of Dirk Trauner. She then joined the group of Brad Pentelute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (U.S.A.) for her postdoc where she worked on the optimization of flow-based peptide synthesis using an automated synthesis platform. In 2020, Nina joined the University of Zurich (Switzerland) as an assistant professor (tenure track). Her research group focuses on the development of new tools for flow-based peptide synthesis, as well as the chemical synthesis of post-translationally modified peptides and proteins. In 2019, her work was acknowledged with a Bert Schram Award of the American Peptide Society, in 2021 she was awarded the Bachem Award for Peptide Science, and in 2022 she received the Thieme Journals Award.
Norbert Kockmann, TU Dortmund University
Title: Data-Driven Flow Chemistry – Lab Automation, AI Supported Modules, and Scale-up
Norbert Kockmann is full professor at TU Dortmund University. His interests are on modular small-scale devices for continuous flow process intensification. His research includes multiphase flow, experimental and simulation work assisted by machine-learning methods.
Ricardo Labes, Syngenta
Title: Flow Chemistry at Syngenta
Ricardo Labes is a Principal Scientist at Syngenta. As part of the Automation Chemistry Team, he focusses on flow chemistry as an enabling tool to support discovery in weed control. Prior to joining Syngenta, Ricardo was a Research Fellow at the University of Leeds where he worked with Prof. Richard Bourne on continuous flow closed loop optimisations. Prior to that, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in Prof. Steven Ley’s Group at the University of Cambridge where he was previously a visiting PhD student.
Shawn K Collins, University of Montreal
Title: Photochemical Macrocyclization in Flow
Shawn K. Collins was born in 1974 and raised in Val d’Or, Québec. He obtained a B.Sc. (Honours) degree from Concordia University in 1996 while working with Professor Ossie S. Tee. He completed his doctoral dissertation in 2001 on the synthesis, preparation and application of acetylenic cyclophanes with Professor Alex G. Fallis at the University of Ottawa. After an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship with Professor Larry E. Overman (University of California, Irvine) pursuing the total synthesis of polycyclic guanidinium alkaloids, he joined the faculty at Université de Montréal in September 2003 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor in 2009 and to Full Professor in 2015. Professor Collins’s research group is interested in the development of novel synthetic methods, particularly involving catalysis, photochemistry and continuous flow methods.
Mimi Hii, Imperial College London
Title: Dynamic kinetic resolution of chiral amines in flow
Prof. Mimi Hii is interested in the development of catalytic reactions and associated technologies, that are relevant to the pharmaceutical and fine chemical industries. In the early part of her career, she focused mainly on the development and applications of homogeneous catalysis for C‑C or C‑X bond formations, including asymmetric catalysis. For the past decade, she has established collaborations with colleagues in Chemical Engineering, on the implementation of flow chemistry/heterogeneous catalysis in multiphasic reactions, including the application of EXAFS spectroscopy to understand the fundamental processes affecting catalyst structures. She is the Director of the Centre for Rapid Online Analysis of Reactions (ROAR) and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Next Generation Synthesis & Reaction Technology.
Filipe Vilela, Heriot-Watt University
Title: Photocatalysis in Flow: Technologies for Accelerating Sustainable Synthesis
Filipe Vilela completed in 2008 his PhD in the field of polymer chemistry at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. Since then, Dr Vilela has worked in organic electronics (Strathclyde), and in heterogeneous photocatalysis at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany. Filipe Vilela is currently an Assistant Professor at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, with research interests centred on developing photoactive polymers for photocatalytic and sensing applications using enabling technologies such as flow chemistry, mechanochemistry and process analytics.