Kis, Zoltán , Dr

Dr Zoltán Kis

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor)

z.kis@sheffield.ac.uk

G58 , Sir Robert Hadfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Zoltán Kis
School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering
G58
Sir Robert Hadfield Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD

Profile

I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering at 91��Ƭ, and an Honorary Lecturer at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London.

I am leading a multidisciplinary team that is innovating and digitalising RNA vaccine and therapeutics production platform technologies. My 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.

I previously worked as a Research Associate in the Future Vaccine Manufacturing Hub at Imperial College London. I obtained my Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Imperial College London, UK, hold an M.Sc. in Applied Biotechnology and a B.Eng. in Chemical with Biochemical Engineering.

Research interests

Our exciting research combines experimental and computational modelling techniques to innovate RNA vaccine and therapeutics production multi-product platform processes. On the experimental front, we are developing, intensifying and scaling up continuous mRNA enzymatic synthesis, purification and formulation processes, alongside developing bespoke manufacturing equipment. Our modelling work streamlines process development and deploys software-based sensors and digital twins for monitoring and automating multi-product mRNA manufacturing. Our work is embedded into the Quality-by-Digital-Design framework and follows techno-economic considerations. Our efforts will enable the rapid development and mass manufacturing of high-quality mRNA vaccines/therapeutics at low costs against a wide range of diseases.

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.

Publications

Journal articles

Nourafkan E, Kenyon C, Nair A, Loveday KA, Welbourne EN, Tao M, Ahmed M, Middleton J, Dickman MJ, Brown SF , Maamra M et al (2024) . Biotechnology Journal, 19(11).
Qu J, Nair A, Muir GW, Loveday KA, Yang Z, Nourafkan E, Welbourne EN, Maamra M, Dickman MJ & Kis Z (2024) . Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids, 102333-102333.
Isoko K, Cordiner JL, Kis Z & Moghadam PZ (2024) . Digital Discovery.
Welbourne EN, Loveday KA, Nair A, Nourafkan E, Qu J, Cook K, Kis Z & Dickman MJ (2024) . Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 11.
Curry E, Muir G, Qu J, Kis Z, Hulley M & Brown A (2024) . Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 121(6), 1912-1926.
Ibrahim D, Kis Z, Papathanasiou MM, Kontoravdi C, Chachuat B & Shah N (2024) . Vaccines, 12(2), 158-158.
Nair A, Loveday KA, Kenyon C, Qu J & Kis Z (2024) . Methods Mol Biol, 2786, 339-364.
Newall AT, Beutels P, Kis Z, Towse A & Jit M (2023) . Vaccine.
Geall AJ, Kis Z & Ulmer JB (2023) . Expert Opinion on Drug Discovery, 18(2), 119-127.
Daniel S, Kis Z, Kontoravdi C & Shah N (2022) . Vaccine Insights, 01(04), 219-233.
Palmieri E, Kis Z, Ozanne J, Di Benedetto R, Ricchetti B, Massai L, Carducci M, Oldrini D, Gasperini G, Aruta MG , Rossi O et al (2022) . Vaccines, 10(7).
Ly HH, Daniel S, Soriano SKV, Kis Z & Blakney AK (2022) . Molecular Pharmaceutics, 19(6), 1892-1905.
Daniel S, Kis Z, Kontoravdi C & Shah N (2022) . Trends in Biotechnology.
Rostami F, Kis Z, Koppelaar R, Jiménez L & Pozo C (2022) . Energy Storage Materials, 48, 412-438.
Kis Z, Tak K, Ibrahim D, Papathanasiou MM, Chachuat B, Shah N & Kontoravdi C (2022) . npj Vaccines, 7(1).
Kis Z (2022) . Pharmaceutics, 14(2).
Ibrahim D, Kis Z, Tak K, Papathanasiou MM, Kontoravdi C, Chachuat B & Shah N (2021) . Vaccines, 9(12).
van de Berg D, Kis Z, Behmer CF, Samnuan K, Blakney AK, Kontoravdi C, Shattock R & Shah N (2021) . npj Vaccines, 6(1).
Kis Z (2021) Enhancing vaccine platforms : computational models accelerate development, manufacturing, and distribution. BioProcess International.
Kis Z, Kontoravdi C, Shattock R & Shah N (2020) . Vaccines, 9(1).
Kis Z, Kontoravdi C, Dey AK, Shattock R & Shah N (2020) . Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, 2(3).
Kis Z, Papathanasiou M, Calvo‐Serrano R, Kontoravdi C & Shah N (2019) . Journal of Advanced Manufacturing and Processing, 1(3).
Kis Z, Shattock R, Shah N & Kontoravdi C (2019) . Biotechnology Journal, 14(7), 1-2.
Kis Z, Shattock R, Shah N & Kontoravdi C (2019) . Biotechnology Journal, 14(1).
Koppelaar RHEM, Sule MN, Kis Z, Mensah FK, Wang X, Triantafyllidis C, van Dam KH & Shah N (2018) . Water, 10(9).
Kis Z, Pandya N & Koppelaar RHEM (2018) . Energy Policy, 120, 144-157.
Lacroix J, Kis Z, Josupeit R, Schlund F, Stroh-Dege A, Frank-Stöhr M, Leuchs B, Schlehofer J, Rommelaere J & Dinsart C (2018) . Viruses, 10(6).
Geiss C, Kis Z, Leuchs B, Frank-Stöhr M, Schlehofer J, Rommelaere J, Dinsart C & Lacroix J (2017) . Viruses, 9(10).
Kis Z, Rodin T, Zafar A, Lai Z, Freke G, Fleck O, Del Rio Hernandez A, Towhidi L, Pedrigi RM, Homma T & Krams R (2016) . Scientific Reports, 6(1).
Towhidi L, Khodadadi D, Maimari N, Pedrigi RM, Ip H, Kis Z, Kwak BR, Petrova TW, Delorenzi M & Krams R (2016) . Physiological Reports, 4(6), e12673-e12673.
Kis Z, Pereira HS, Homma T, Pedrigi RM & Krams R (2015) . Journal of The Royal Society Interface, 12(106), 20141000-20141000.
Towhidi L, Maimari N, Kis Z, Khodadadi D & Krams R (2014) . Atherosclerosis, 237(2), e14-e14.
Frueh J, Maimari N, Lui Y, Kis Z, Mehta V, Pormehr N, Grant C, Chalkias E, Falck-Hansen M, Bovens S , Pedrigi R et al (2012) . FEBS Letters, 586(15), 2164-2170.
Kis Z, Makarov SV & Silaghi-Dumitrescu R (2010) . Journal of Sulfur Chemistry, 31(1), 27-39.
Kis Z & Silaghi-Dumitrescu R (2009) . International Journal of Quantum Chemistry, NA-NA.
Makarov SV, Salnikov DS, Pogorelova AS, Kis Z & Silaghi-Dumitrescu R (2008) . Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines, 12(10), 1096-1099.
Kis Z, Burian K, Treso B, Acs K, Prohaszka Z, Fust G, Gonczol E & Endresz V (2008) . Inflammation Research, 57(6), 287-295.
Kis Z, Treso B, Burian K, Endresz V, Pallinger E, Nagy A, Toth A, Takacs M, Falus A & Gonczol E (2008) . FEMS Immunology & Medical Microbiology, 52(3), 324-334.
Nair A & Kis Z () . Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, 11, 1504876.
Giannelli C, Necchi F, Palmieri E, Oldrini D, Ricchetti B, Papathanasiou MM, Kis Z, Kontoravdi C, Campa C & Micoli F () . The AAPS Journal, 26(2).
Alifia KCH, Kontoravdi C, Kis Z & Ismail D () . International Journal of Technology, 13(8), 1630-1630.
Kis Z, Kontoravdi C, Shattock R & Shah N () . Vaccines, 9(3), 205-205.
Mot A, Zoltan K, Svistunenko DA, Damian G, Silaghi-Dumitrescu R & Makarov SV () . Dalton Trans., 39(6), 1464-1466.

Chapters

Kis Z, Tak K, Ibrahim D, Daniel S, van de Berg D, Papathanasiou MM, Chachuat B, Kontoravdi C & Shah N (2022) , Computer Aided Chemical Engineering (pp. 2167-2172). Elsevier
Ibrahim D, Kis Z, Tak K, Papathanasiou M, Kontoravdi C, Chachuat B & Shah N (2022) , Computer Aided Chemical Engineering (pp. 1633-1638). Elsevier
Pereira GC, Malik S, Kis Z & Rocamonde B (2019) , Natural Bio-active Compounds (pp. 127-146). Springer Singapore
Kis Z, Towhidi L, Ip H, Drakakis E, Bharath A & Krams R (2014) An In situ electroporation and flow device for mechanotransduction studies, Microarrays: Principles, Applications and Technologies (pp. 49-67).

Preprints

Curry E, Muir G, Qu J, Kis Z, Hulley M & Brown A (2023) , Authorea, Inc..
Kis Z, Tak K, Ibrahim D, Papathanasiou MM, Chachuat B, Shah N & Kontoravdi C (2021) , Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Research group: For the latest info on our research and team, please visit our .

Grants

Date	Funder	Role	Title	Funding amount
1 Oct 2024 –&�Բ��; 30 Sep 2027	Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations ()	Principal Investigator		£3.7 million (US $4. 8 million)
May 2024 –&�Բ��; May 2026	Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). BB/Y007514/1. .	Co-Investigator		£1.72 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
Oct 2023 – Oct 2025	Innovate UK.	Principal Investigator		£2 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

I am a Fellow of the and I am passionate about teaching and training the next generation of chemical and biological engineers.
I am supervising and co-supervising the PhD projects in the field of mRNA production, purification, formulation and analysis in our research team.
I am teaching the following modules: 1) CPE336-CPE6043, Biopharmaceutical Manufacturing, 3rd Year UG & M.Sc., Module Leader & Lecturer 2) BIE103 Introduction to Bioengineering, 1st Year UG, Lecturer

Professional activities and memberships

July 2019 – Present. American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), Postdoctoral Member.
Nov 2018 – Present. Institution of Chemical Engineers, London (IChemE), U.K., Professional Member.
June 2018 – Present. European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB).
June 2018 – Present. European Biotechnology Network (EBN).
June 2018 – Present. Developing Countries Vaccine Manufacturers Network (DCVMN).
May 2018 – Present. The Network in Bioprocessing (BioProNET), a BBSRC Network in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy co-sponsored by EPSRC (U.K. based).
May 2018 – Present. The Food Waste Network (FoodWasteNet), a BBSRC Network in Industrial Biotechnology and Bioenergy (U.K. based).
April 2018 – Present. Vaccine Research Network (VRN) at Imperial College London.
March 2012 – Present. European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
February 2012 – Present. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
November 2010 – Present. European Association for Cancer Research (EACR).

I am regularly invited to speak at scientific and industry conferences, and to advise policy experts, non-governmental organisations and companies. For example, I provided consultancy on techno-economic modelling to the WHO mRNA Technology Transfer Hub. I sit on the Sanofi mRNA CMC Advisory Board and the Pfizer mRNA Technology Advisory Board.

91��Ƭ

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering

Dr Zoltán Kis

Journal articles

Chapters

Preprints

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