Kevin Moore

Kevin Moore is Chief Executive Officer of the NSF RuralSTAMINA Biomanufacturing Engine in Iowa and Nebraska, where he works at the intersection of research, industry, and economic development to accelerate commercialization and strengthen the nation's advanced biomanufacturing ecosystem. Previously Chief Technology Officer for Biobased Products at Iowa State University, Moore brings more than 30 years of executive experience in biobased products and renewable chemicals, including leadership roles at Archer Daniels Midland and Trucent Inc, a privately held engineering services and technology company. He has led the commercialization of multiple biobased technologies, including award-winning green chemistry innovations and bioplastics manufacturing. Moore has served as a technical advisor and board member for numerous early-stage biotechnology companies. Moore holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from MIT.

Balaji Narasimhan

Balaji Narasimhan is an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor of Engineering and holds the Vlasta Klima Balloun Faculty Chair in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU). He has been at ISU since 2001 before which he was on the faculty of the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering at Rutgers University. He served as Associate Dean of Research in the ISU College of Engineering from 2007 to 2013 and oversaw record growths in the college’s research portfolio and doctoral degree production. Currently, he directs the Nanovaccine Institute, an interdisciplinary consortium of 87 researchers from 27 universities, national laboratories, research institutes, companies, and hospitals that is focused on the design and development of next generation vaccines and therapeutics. He is a co-founder of a startup called ImmunoNanoMed Inc.

Paolo Beuzer

Paolo Beuzer, PhD is Scientific Director at the CHDI Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing treatments for Huntington's disease (HD). After a degree in nanobiotechnology at the University of Trieste, Italy, and a PhD from UPMC Paris Sorbonne, he began his research career at the Salk Institute in San Diego, where he developed novel microscopy tools to visualize single molecules inside living cells. He then moved into drug discovery at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, leading RNA therapy and gene editing programs, before joining CHDI to bridge fundamental biology and clinical application. At CHDI, he leads efforts to understand how errors in DNA repair drive disease progression in HD and to translate these insights into clinical biomarker assays — bringing scientists one step closer to therapies that can slow or prevent the disease.

James D. Byrne

James D. Byrne, M.D., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Iowa and a member of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. A physician-scientist and biomedical engineer, his research focuses on developing biomaterials, drug-delivery systems, and engineered therapeutic platforms to improve cancer treatment and reduce treatment-related toxicity. His laboratory has pioneered technologies for localized delivery of therapeutic gases, tumor oxygenation, RNA-based radioprotection, and controlled drug delivery, with an emphasis on translating new technologies from the laboratory toward clinical use. Dr. Byrne received his M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina and completed residency training through the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program and postdoctoral research at MIT.

Zoe Kramin

Zoe Kramin is a PhD candidate in the Civil & Environmental Engineering department under the mentorship of Dr. Craig Just, in association with the Wastewater to Energy Program and IIHR-Hydroscience & Engineering. Her research focuses on advancing anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment through molecular biology, machine learning, and real-time monitoring technologies.

Souradip Sinha

Souradip Sinha is a PhD candidate in the Department of Pathology at the University of Iowa in the laboratory of Dr. Munir Tanas. His doctoral research focuses on epigenetic mechanisms in sarcomas, particularly the role of the ATAC histone acetyltransferase complex as an oncogenic driver in fusion protein-positive and -negative sarcomas.

Originally from Kolkata, India, he earned his bachelor's degree from Scottish Church College, University of Calcutta, and a master’s degree in Biotechnology from Jadavpur University. At the University of Iowa, he joined the Biomedical Science Program in 2021 and the Molecular Medicine Program in 2022. As a Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing (CBB) Fellow (2023–2025),  he obtained an industry-focused internship with the University of Iowa Pharmaceuticals (UIP), where he worked with multidisciplinary teams within a CDMO facility. 

Joseph Correa

Joseph Correa is a Pharmaceutics PhD candidate in the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, where he conducts research in the laboratory of Dr. Nicole Brogden. His doctoral research focuses on formulating dissolving microneedles for transdermal epinephrine delivery in cases of acute anaphylaxis, with the goal of developing easily administered therapies that can help ease patient burdens.

Joseph earned his BS in Biology and BA in Biochemistry from the University of Northern Iowa in 2023. He joined the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy to pursue graduate studies in Pharmaceutics and is a Center for Biocatalysis and Bioprocessing (CBB) Fellow (2024–2026).

His research interests are driven by a passion for developing accessible drug delivery technologies and improving patient experiences through innovative therapeutic approaches.