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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

IBRL Team

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Kevin Lerner

Title: Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: klerner@illinois.edu

Kevin Lerner joined IBRL in October 2025 as a Bioprocessing Pilot Plant Specialist on the Fermentation Team. He holds a B.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology from Gettysburg College and an M.S. in Biotechnology from Northwestern University. Before IBRL, he worked in pharmaceutical R&D at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and later at […]

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Emily Reese

Title: FSHN Intern
Year: Spring 2026
Major: Agricultural & Biological Engineering

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Luxuan Han

Title: PSM Student
Year: Spring 2027
Major: Food Science & Human Nutrition

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Nihar Jog

Title: PSM Student
Year: Fall 2026
Major: Bioprocessing & Bioenergy

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Yang Ning

Title: PSM Student
Year: Fall 2026
Major: Food Science & Human Nutrition

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Dr. Vijay Singh

Title: Executive Director
Email: vsingh@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 333-9510

Dr. Vijay Singh is a Founder Professor in Grainger College of Engineering, Distinguished Professor of Bioprocessing in the college of ACES, Executive Director of Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Deputy Director of the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation. His research is on the development of bioprocessing […]

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Brian Jacobson

Title: Associate Director of Strategic Operations
Email: bjacobs3@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 300-5404

Brian Jacobson joined IBRL in February 2012 and is responsible for leadership of the IBRL and FSHN Pilot Processing Plant facilities. He also serves as the Program Manager for Infrastructure for the iFAB Tech Hub and on the advisory board of the Biomass Innovation Hub. He is responsible for oversight of the pilot plant facilities’ […]

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Dr. Beth Conerty

Title: Associate Director of Business Development
Email: bconerty@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 300-4543

Beth Conerty joined IBRL in December 2017 as the Business Development Manager.  She is working to grow relationships with industry and help bring projects into the IBRL facility.  Beth has a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and a Professional Science Master’s in Bioenergy from University of Illinois. She has a doctorate in Energy Science and Engineering from […]

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Weiyi Hong

Year: Graduating May 2026
Major: Food Science and Human Nutrition

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Eric Chen

Year: Graduating May 2028
Major: Chemical Engineering

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Weijun Liu

Year: Graduating in May 2027
Major: Food Science and Human Nutrition

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Tyler Pham

Year: Graduating in May 2027
Major: Food Science and Human Nutrition

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Ananya Mani

Year: Graduating in May 2027
Major: Food Science and Human Nutrition

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Avery Allaria

Title: Business Office Intern
Year: Spring 2028
Major: Accounting and Information Systems

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Haley Han

Year: Graduating May 2026
Major: Molecular and Cellular Biology

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Elijah Harbut

Title: iFAB Intern
Year: Spring 2029
Major: PHD - Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering

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Blaine Lu

Year: Graduating May 2026
Major: Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CHBE)

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Will Neff

Title: iFAB Intern
Year: Spring 2026
Major: Political Science, Information Science + Data Science

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Ben Quirke

Title: Business Office Intern
Year: Spring 2027
Major: Agricultural and Consumer Economics

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Marissa Nyland

Title: Assistant Director of Operations and Safety
Email: mcastne2@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 333-4560

Marissa Nyland joined IBRL in January 2022 as a member of the fermentation team. In February of 2024 she was promoted to the Assistant Director of Operations & Safety to manage safety programs, oversee construction projects, and ensure the smooth day-to-day operation of the pilot plant. She has a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the University of […]

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Amy Rogers

Title: Senior Business Development Coordinator
Email: arogers9@illinois.edu
Phone: (217)300-7613

Amy Rogers joined IBRL in March of 2022 as the Business Development Coordinator.  She is responsible for coordinating the accounting operations and business functions of IBRL. Amy has a Bachelor of Science in Business from Eastern Illinois University. She spent the first 14 years of her career with Design Ideas, an international home decor manufacturer, […]

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Jedi Brown

Title: Senior Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: jsbrown6@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 300-5781

Jedi Brown joined the Food Science Pilot Plant and Dining Services Team in Summer of 2017 as a Food Service Administrator III. He has spent the last 15 years training food safety and production processes to industry managers and leaders. He has a degree in Business from Parkland College in Champaign, IL and is continuing […]

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Drew Borbely

Title: Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: borbely2@illinois.edu

Drew joined the Food Science Pilot Plant Team in January of 2024 as a Pilot Plant Specialist. He graduated in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois concentrating in Food Science. He has previously worked as a product developer for PepsiCo on the Mountain Dew and Energy […]

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Phillip Manning

Title: Senior Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: manningp@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 300-1120

Phillip Manning joined IBRL in January 2019 as a pilot plant specialist.  Phillip has a bachelors degree in Biological Sciences from Eastern Illinois University.  Previously, Phillip worked at the Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Tate and Lyle pilot plants.  His focus included process improvements and new fermentation opportunities.  Phillip also has experience with separations and […]

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Joe Melnyk

Title: Junior Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: jwmelnyk@illinois.edu

Joe joined the Food Science Pilot Plant in the Fall of 2023, after spending roughly 8 years in the craft beer industry. During that time he developed a passion for recipe generation and refinement. He also has a keen interest in quality control, and quality assurance within food production. Before starting in the beer industry Joe received a […]

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Tom McKenna

Title: Senior Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: tmckenn2@illinois.edu

Tom McKenna joined IBRL in March 2022. He has a Bachelor’s in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. In August of 2023, Tom was promoted to Senior Pilot Plant Specialist and currently leads IBRL’s DSP Team. Previously, he spent 10 years at a chemical manufacturer in both quality and research positions […]

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Bobby Crowley

Title: Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: robertc2@illinois.edu

Bobby joined IBRL in June 2022 as a member of the Down Stream Processing Team. In August of 2023 he was promoted to Pilot Plant Specialist. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, Bobby worked as a Food Technician at Tyson […]

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Adam Davis

Title: Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: adamd2@illinois.edu

Adam Davis joined IBRL in June 2023 as a member of the Downstream Processing Team. In the summer of 2024, Adam joined the Fermentation Team and was promoted to Pilot Plant Specialist. He has a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Previously, he worked in the oilseed industry as a process […]

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Hana Ostrander

Title: Junior Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: hostra2@illinois.edu

Hana Ostrander joined IBRL in October 2023 as a Junior Pilot Plant Specialist on the fermentation team. She has a Bachelor’s in Integrative Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining IBRL, she was an analytical chemist at an agronomy lab in Champaign, and she worked as a lab technician at ADM’s […]

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Hope Park

Title: Junior Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: hopejp2@illinois.edu

Hope Park graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Illinois with a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Food Science. Upon graduating she interned at the ADM Modeling Center located in Illinois’s Research Park, creating process simulations and financial models for various R&D and prospective optimization projects. She was later hired as an ADM […]

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Nathan Schumer

Title: Junior Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: schumer2@illinois.edu

Nathan joined IBRL in September 2024 as a member of the Down Stream Processing Team. He has a Bachelor’s in Materials Science and Engineering and a Master’s in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Previously, Nathan worked as an Undergraduate Intern and then a Graduate Hourly employee at IBRL during […]

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Suneet Takhar

Title: Analytical Laboratory Specialist
Email: srtakhar@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 333-4630

Suneet Takhar joined IBRL as a part-time lab manager in November 2019. She took up the full-time analytical lab specialist role in January 2022 which includes both technical and management aspects related to the lab. She has a Bachelor’s in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry from University of Idaho and a Master’s in Food […]

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Robert “BJ” Glasa

Email: rjglasa@illinois.edu

BJ has been with the IBRL since 2019. He started at UA Local 149 in 1997 and worked for outside contractors for 22 years before coming to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is the lead pipefitter for both the IBRL and the Food Science and Human Nutrition Pilot Processing Plant and manages the installation […]

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Nancy McCrone

Title: Analytical Lab Specialist
Email: mccrone2@illinois.edu

Nancy McCrone joined IBRL as a Bioprocessing Lab Specialist in June 2023. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Crop Sciences and a concentration in Plant Biotechnology and Molecular Biology. Prior to joining IBRL, she was the QC Specialist at ADM BioProducts Lab in Decatur, Illinois.

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Kerri Peters

Title: Office Manager
Email: kerrip@illinois.edu

Kerri joined IRBL in September of 2022 as an Office Support Specialist. She helps keep the day-to-day office operations running smoothly. Kerri has a B.A. in Political Science from Nebraska Wesleyan University. Over the past decade, she has specialized in Event and Logistic Coordination as well as Project Management. Her experience ranges from serving as a Peace Corps […]

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Jeremy Sechan

Title: Office Support Associate
Email: jsechan3@illinois.edu

Jeremy Sechan joined IBRL in October of 2024 as an Office Support Associate. They graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BA in English and a minor in Secondary-Education in 2021. He spent the past couple of years as a High School English Teacher at Champaign Centennial High School, and he is […]

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Taylor Meredith

Title: iFAB Communications Manager
Email: tmmered@illinois.edu

Taylor Meredith joined IBRL in February of 2025 as the Communications Manager for iFAB. She is also helping support IBRL messaging, particularly through social media and the IBRL website. She moved from Columbus, Ohio, where she worked as a communications specialist at the headquarters of a major retailer. Her earlier experience stems from tourism marketing. […]

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Lynzee Kraushaar

Title: iFAB Business Specialist
Email: lynzeek@uillinois.edu

Lynzee joined the team in November 2025 as the iFAB Business Specialist. Lynzee willmanage, coordinate, and implement business functions of the iFAB Tech Hub and itslead, IBRL, while ensuring compliance with departmental, university, state, and federalpolicies. She studied at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where she received herBachelor of Science in communication and Master of Business […]

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Erin Kealey

Title: Visiting Food Pilot Plant & Regulatory Specialist
Email: ekealey@illinois.edu

Erin Kealey joined IBRL in Fall 2022 as an Academic Hourly on the fermentation team. In January 2023, Erin began her Master’s degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, specializing in and applied food safety and microbiology. After completing her MS, she returned to IBRL/FSHN-PPP in 2025 as the […]

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Dr. Alex Polidore

Title: Pilot Plant Specialist
Email: alexp2@illinois.edu

Alex Polidore is a microbiologist with over a decade of combined academic and industry laboratory experience, specializing in biochemistry, microbial natural products, and biomanufacturing. He earned his bachelor’s degree in microbiology from Purdue University and completed his doctorate at the University of Illinois, where his research focused on the discovery and scalable production of microbial […]

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Haile Yang

Title: Graduate Hourly
Major: PSM Student - Food Science & Human Nutrition

Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory

1300 W Pennsylvania Ave
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: 217-333-3570
Email: bconerty@illinois.edu

Contact

IBRL
Food Science Pilot Plant
College of ACES
ABE

ABE & FSHN

IBRL is within the department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. The Food Science Pilot Plant is within the Department of Food Science & Human Nutrition.