Dr Zoltán Kis
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor)
Full contact details
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering (CBE)
G58
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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Dr. Zoltán Kis is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield, and an Honorary Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London.
Zoltán is leading a multidisciplinary team that is innovating and digitalising RNA vaccine and therapeutics production platform technologies. His work is addressing the challenges of producing large volumes of RNA-based vaccines and therapeutics, rapidly, at high quality and at low cost in a disease-agnostic manner.
He is regularly invited to speak at scientific and industry conferences, and to advise policy experts, non-governmental organisations and companies. For example, he was consulted for techno-economic modelling by the WHO mRNA Technology Transfer Hub, and he sits on the Sanofi mRNA CMC Advisory Board as well as the Pfizer mRNA technology Advisory Board.
Zoltán’s work on RNA vaccine manufacturing and production process modelling received high-profile media coverage in the UK and internationally e.g. on BBC World News, BBC Radio (4,5 and World Series), Sky News, RTL TV, China Central Television (CCTV), Nature News, The Lancet, BMJ, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The New York Times and many more.
Zoltán obtained his Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Imperial College London, UK, holds an M.Sc. in Applied Biotechnology and a B.Eng. in Chemical with Biochemical Engineering.
Work experience
2024 – Present
Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield
2021 – Present
Honorary Lecturer, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK
2021 - 2023
Lecturer (Assistant Professor), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Sheffield
2018 – 2021
Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Research Hub, Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London, UK
2015 – 2018
Post-Doctoral Research Associate in resource flow modelling, techno-economic modelling for environmental sustainability assessment, Institute for Integrated Economic Research, London, UK.
- Research interests
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Research
Our exciting research combines experimental and modelling techniques, and innovates RNA vaccine & therapeutics production platform processes. The platform processes that we are developing will enable the rapid development and mass-manufacturing of RNA vaccines and therapeutics at high volumes, low cost and high quality against a wide range of diseases. To achieve this ambitious goal, we are developing and synergising a set of physical and digital technologies integrated into the Quality by Digital Design framework, and based on techno-economic considerations. The obtained computer models will link RNA product quality to the production process, and will enhance both the development and operation of RNA manufacturing processes.
The RNA vaccine platform technology has been successfully used to develop COVID-19 vaccines at record speeds. However, the RNA vaccine production volumes and rates can be further increased, while reducing costs and maintaining consistently high product quality. In addition, RNA vaccines can be produced based on a transformative platform technology, meaning that the same manufacturing infrastructure can be used to produce vaccines and therapeutics against a wide range of diseases. Therefore, it is anticipated that the demand for RNA vaccine production technologies will substantially increase and the physical processes and digital tools developed in our group are expected to be widely adopted.
Key research areas include:
- Experimental mRNA vaccine and RNA therapeutics manufacturing process development: process intensification, continuous manufacturing and scale-up.
- Development and optimisation of continuous in vitro transcription (IVT) reaction for mRNA synthesis, continuous mRNA downstream purification processes based on continuous chromatography and tangential flow filtration unit operations, as well as continuous LNP formulation unit operations.
- Development of new unit operations and design of process equipment for mRNA manufacturing.
- Process digitalisation: development of soft sensors and digital twins to monitor and control the manufacturing of RNA vaccines, RNA therapeutics and other biopharmaceuticals.
- Techno-economic modelling for reducing the costs, increasing production rates and increasing production volumes of RNA vaccines, RNA therapeutics and other biopharmaceuticals.
- Quality by Digital Design for consistently ensuring product quality, support scale-up, technology transfer, and for accelerating the regulatory approval process.
Recruitment
We are eager to support talented individuals who are passionate about biomanufacturing, production process development, process analytical technologies, RNA vaccines and therapeutics, as well as process modelling, digitalisation, machine learning and Industry 4.0.
Prospective PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and research fellows are encouraged to send me a brief expression of interest (e.g. up to 1 page) along with their CV.
- Publications
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Journal articles
- Strategic Planning of a Joint SARS-CoV-2 and Influenza Vaccination Campaign in the UK. Vaccines, 12(2), 158-158.
- Quality by Digital Design for Developing Platform RNA Vaccine and Therapeutic Manufacturing Processes.. Methods Mol Biol, 2786, 339-364.
- Placing a value on increased flexible vaccine manufacturing capacity for future pandemics. Vaccine.
- Vaccines on demand, part II: future reality. Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 18(2), 119-127.
- GMMA as an alternative carrier for a glycoconjugate vaccine against Group A Streptococcus. Vaccines, 10(7).
- Optimization of Lipid Nanoparticles for saRNA Expression and Cellular Activation Using a Design-of-Experiment Approach. Molecular Pharmaceutics, 19(6), 1892-1905.
- Quality by Design for enabling RNA platform production processes. Trends in Biotechnology. View this article in WRRO
- Comparative sustainability study of energy storage technologies using data envelopment analysis. Energy Storage Materials, 48, 412-438.
- Pandemic-response adenoviral vector and RNA vaccine manufacturing. npj Vaccines, 7(1).
- Stability modelling of mRNA vaccine quality based on temperature monitoring throughout the distribution chain. Pharmaceutics, 14(2).
- Model-based planning and delivery of mass vaccination campaigns against infectious disease: application to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Vaccines, 9(12). View this article in WRRO
- Quality by design modelling to support rapid RNA vaccine production against emerging infectious diseases. npj Vaccines, 6(1). View this article in WRRO
- View this article in WRRO Enhancing vaccine platforms : computational models accelerate development, manufacturing, and distribution. BioProcess International.
- Resources, production scales and time required for producing RNA vaccines for the global pandemic demand. Vaccines, 9(1). View this article in WRRO
- Rapid development and deployment of high‐volume vaccines for pandemic response. Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, 2(3). View this article in WRRO
- A model‐based quantification of the impact of new manufacturing technologies on developing country vaccine supply chain performance : a Kenyan case study. Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, 1(3). View this article in WRRO
- Emerging Technologies for Low‐Cost, Rapid Vaccine Manufacture. Biotechnology Journal, 14(7), 1-2.
- Emerging technologies for low‐cost, rapid vaccine manufacture. Biotechnology Journal, 14(1). View this article in WRRO
- Framework for WASH sector data improvements in data-poor environments, applied to Accra, Ghana. Water, 10(9). View this article in WRRO
- Electricity generation technologies: Comparison of materials use, energy return on investment, jobs creation and CO2 emissions reduction. Energy Policy, 120, 144-157. View this article in WRRO
- Preclinical testing of an oncolytic parvovirus in Ewing sarcoma : protoparvovirus H-1 induces apoptosis and lytic infection in vitro but fails to improve survival in vivo. Viruses, 10(6). View this article in WRRO
- Preclinical testing of an oncolytic parvovirus : standard protoparvovirus H-1PV efficiently induces osteosarcoma cell lysis in vitro. Viruses, 9(10). View this article in WRRO
- Development of a synthetic gene network to modulate gene expression by mechanical forces. Scientific Reports, 6(1). View this article in WRRO
- Comparison between direct and reverse electroporation of cells in situ: a simulation study. Physiological Reports, 4(6), e12673-e12673. View this article in WRRO
- Mammalian synthetic biology: emerging medical applications. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 12(106), 20141000-20141000. View this article in WRRO
- A novel high-throughput platform for siRNA transfection of primary mammalian cells. Atherosclerosis, 237(2), e14-e14.
- Systems and synthetic biology of the vessel wall. FEBS Letters, 586(15), 2164-2170. View this article in WRRO
- Computational investigations on the electronic structure and reactivity of thiourea dioxide: sulfoxylate formation, tautomerism and dioxygen liberation. Journal of Sulfur Chemistry, 31(1), 27-39.
- The electronic structure of biologically relevant Fe(0) systems. International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, NA-NA.
- A new route to carbon monoxide adducts of heme proteins. Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, 12(10), 1096-1099.
- Quality by Design Framework Applied to GMMA Purification. The AAPS Journal, 26(2).
- Techno-Economic Evaluation of Novel SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Manufacturing in the Insect Cell Baculovirus Platform. International Journal of Technology, 13(8), 1630-1630.
- Correction: Kis, Z. et al. Resources, Production Scales and Time Required for Producing RNA Vaccines for the Global Pandemic Demand. Vaccines 2021, 9, 3. Vaccines, 9(3), 205-205.
- ‘Super-reduced’ iron under physiologically-relevant conditions. Dalton Trans., 39(6), 1464-1466.
Chapters
- Quality by design and techno-economic modelling of RNA vaccine production for pandemic-response, Computer Aided Chemical Engineering (pp. 2167-2172). Elsevier
- Computationally Designed Recombinant-DNA-Based Compounds Production Driven in Plants During Secondary Metabolism and Their Implication in Antimalarial Therapies, Natural Bio-active Compounds (pp. 127-146). Springer Singapore
- An In situ electroporation and flow device for mechanotransduction studies, Microarrays: Principles, Applications and Technologies (pp. 49-67).
Preprints
- Pandemic-response adenoviral vector and RNA vaccine manufacturing, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Research group
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For the latest info on our research and team, please visit our research team website.
- Grants
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Date
Funder
Role
Title
Funding amount
May 2024 –
May 2026
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). BB/Y007514/1. Engineering Biology, Mission Awards.
Co-Investigator
Electrospun mucoadhesive matrices for polymersome-mediated mRNA vaccine delivery
£1.72 million
Oct 2023 –
Oct 2025
Innovate UK.
Principal Investigator
£2 million
Nov 2023
–
Nov 2028
UK Department of Health and Social Care and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
Co-Investigator
£7.6 million
7 June 2023
BBSRC
Co-Investigator
NanoAnalyzer: An emerging technology to analyse life at the nanoscale
£242,400
20 October 2022.
BBSRC Doctoral Training (CDT/DTC/DTP).
Co-Supervisor
iCASE PhD studentship with AstraZeneca Plc
£84,000
March 2022.
ESPRC Doctoral Training Partnership
Co-Supervisor
iCASE PhD studentship with RedShift BioAnalytics, Inc.
£130,200
Dec 2021 –
Jul 2022
United Kingdom Research and Innovation (UKRI), Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF)
Co-Investigator
Innovating the process of RNA vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing – building external partnerships and exploring commercialisation opportunities
£74,331
Dec 2021 –
Oct 2024
Principal Investigator
Digitalised, small-scale and high-throughput process for distributed and automated RNA production for therapy and pandemic preparedness.
Multi-million USD (confidential)
2020-2022
UKRI, EPSRC, EP/V01479X/1
Co-applicant
Meeting the UK demand for COVID19/SARS-CoV-2 vaccines via integrated manufacturing and supply chain optimisation
£448,148
2020-2022
Wellcome Innovator Award
Co-applicant
A pathway to a live-attenuated whole parasite malaria vaccine.
£727,458
2020-2021
Kidney Research UK. Paediatric Innovation Grant Award
Co-Investigator
Cell catcher: developing a new method for cell isolation and preservation from urine samples of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome patients
£40,000
- Teaching activities
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- I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and I am passionate about teaching and training the next generation of chemical and biological engineers.
- I have been invited and delivered teaching on mRNA vaccine and therapeutic manufacturing at the BBSRC-funded Bioprocessing Entrepreneurial Skills Training (BEST) programme and delivered training on the same topic to companies such as ChromaTan and ThermoFisher Scientific.
- I am supervising and co-supervising the PhD projects in the field of mRNA production, purification, formulation and analysis in our research team.
Module code and title
Role
Academic Years
Level & Course*
Topic & Aims
CPE336, CPE6043
Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing
Module Leader & Lecturer
2023-24 to Present
3rd Year UG & M.Sc.
Provide an understanding of the key unit operations used in manufacturing biopharmaceuticals (including vaccines, therapeutic proteins, cell/gene therapies, mRNA vaccines and therapeutics). Introduce key topics such as process engineering, continuous biomanufacturing, analytical technologies, Quality by Design, and regulatory considerations.
BIE103 Introduction to Bioengineering
Lecturer
2022-23 to Present
1st Year UG
Lecture on vaccine manufacturing. Teach about vaccine types, conventional vaccine manufacturing processes and mRNA platform-based vaccine manufacturing.
CPE440 MEng research projects
Supervisor
2021-22 to Present
4th Year UG
Supervise research projects on techno-economic modelling, and quality by design bioprocess modelling of RNA vaccine manufacturing.
CPE6010, CPE6011, CPE6029, CPE6390 Research Project
Supervisor
2021-22 to Present
M.Sc.
Supervise research projects on techno-economic modelling and on assessing the environmental footprint and energy requirements of RNA vaccine manufacturing, fill-finish, distribution and administration.
CPE260 Experimental Investigation
Module Leader & Lecturer
2021-22
2nd year UG
Teach students to apply statistics to design experiments (using factorial design of experiments, DoE), analyse results from experiments and deal with uncertainty associated with real-world data. This module has a large experimental component performed at the Diamond Pilot Plant.
Year in Industry Student Placement
Placement tutor
2022-23 to Present
UG
Monitoring and assessing the progress of students while on placement at companies. Checking that the work of students aligns with
UK-SPEC competencies.
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) & Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE)
Supervisor
2021-22 to Present
UG
Supervise and co-supervise chemical engineering undergraduate students on lab-based experimental and modelling research summer projects.
* UG – undergraduate, M.Sc. – Master of Science.