Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center at WPI

The BETC at WPI is led by a small core of professionals with more than 80 years of combined experience in biomanufacturing, laboratory facilities management, and professional development. Our staff are passionate about providing individuals with the skills they need to further their careers and fuel the growth of their industry.

Floyd Brownewell

Professor of Practice, WPI Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center, Biology & Biotechnology
+1-508-831-6321, fbrownewell@wpi.edu

EDUCATION: Postdoc Chemistry Stanford University, PhD Chemistry University of Vermont

Floyd has enjoyed a blended career spanning research and development, heavy chemicals manufacturing, healthcare single use manufacturing, and academia. This experience has provided a unique interface between the theoretical and the practical. Floyd understands the need for innovation and invention coupled with manufacturability. He brings this perspective to the classroom and the projects he engages.

His research interests span the interface between organic chemistry and biological function. He is interested in synthetically modified amino acids and nucleic acids and incorporation of those structures within biopolymers. This fusion permits probing the non-bonded interactions between modified peptides, oligonucleic acids, and natural molecules of interest. Additionally, insight gained from these interaction can be leveraged to create new polymers with biologically relevant characteristics.

Chris Bellerive
Operations Manager, WPI Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center
+1-508-831-4879, cabellerive@wpi.edu

Chris has more than 18 years of experience in the biomanufacturing industry, including 15 years of management experience. His background includes technology transfer and process scale-up, as well as clinical and commercial cGMP manufacturing and training. Chris has held leadership roles in both manufacturing and quality assurance for commercial products and is a subject matter expert in all phases of biologics manufacturing.Read more.

As Operations Manager at the BETC, Chris is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the laboratories and equipment, developing laboratory experiments and processes, and instructing program participants on manufacturing operations. He is skilled in project management, data analysis, and producing technical summaries for regulatory bodies, as well as internal and external quality auditing. He is particularly adept in laboratory flow, inventory management, the maintenance and calibration of equipment and instrumentation, and laboratory and chemical/hazardous waste safety.

Chris’s experience includes work at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, BASF/Abbott Bioresearch Center, Unisyn Technologies, and Alpha Beta Technologies, where he gained expertise in quality assurance, regulatory/compliance, equipment design/start up, and validation, as well as developing and implementing continuous improvement processes.

Chris supports the BETC faculty, staff and participants by managing all aspects of the laboratory environment to ensure smooth, efficient operations.

Andrew Penniman
Business Manager, WPI Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center
+1-508-831-4652, apenniman@wpi.edu

As a previous financial and operations analyst for a local manufacturing company, Andrew gained the expertise in developing, implementing, and assessing standard operating procedures for day to day business activities within the BETC. With his background in ISO quality standards and procedures, Andrew’s focus is to analyze current operating procedures and develop new operating strategies that can allow the center to become more efficient and effective in its program deliveries. This will allow the various aspects of the center to become more optimized, providing the end user with solutions that fulfill their needs, thus allowing WPI to maintain its position as the world leader in biomanufacturing education and training.”

Catherine Bouthillier
Senior Manager, Corporate Partnerships, WPI Biomanufacturing Education & Training Center
+1-508.831.4653, cbouthillier@wpi.edu

Catherine Bouthillier is the Senior Manager of Healthcare Corporate Partnerships who consults with medical device and biomanufacturing companies on creating customized R&D and training solutions. Leveraging WPI’s PracticePoint and Biomanufacturing Education and Training Center allows her to create hands-on, pilot scale development, testing and training solutions for her customers.

WPI’s ability to quickly access their network of industry experts & students allow for expediated timelines in the research and development of life-altering healthcare technologies. “Having a well-equipped environment where industry and academia can foster synergy is resulting in cutting-edge, critical, patient-centric solutions, positively altering the prognosis of illnesses and patient mobility”

For over 20 years, Catherine has worked with international and domestic organizations in identifying, creating and delivering customized workforce solutions ultimately ensuring financial goals and strategic plans are accomplished.