Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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.
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 […]
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 […]