Dr Doug Kilburn is an Emeritus Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratory at the University of British Columbia with over 30 years of fermentation experience and a Co-founder of Raven Biotech Inc. In their work on cellulases, Doug and his colleagues cloned and expressed a large number of cellulolytic enzymes and fusion proteins incorporating cellulose-binding domains in a variety of organisms. Pichia pastoris proved to be an ideal host for producing a number of these proteins. The need to measure methanol concentration in these cultures to maximize product yield lead to the development of the on-line stand-alone Methanol Monitoring and Control System.

Gary Lesnicki has over 35 years of experience in both industrial and academic fermentation research and development. He is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder of Raven Biotech Inc. Gary previously directed the Fermentation Pilot Plant in the University of British Columbia’s Michael Smith Laboratory and consults widely on fermentation projects. His group extensively worked with Pichia pastoris and Pichia methanolica fermentations and continues to be a leader in the field of fermentation technology.
Gary developed the Fermentation Workshop Series which was designed to educate academic and industrial researchers in hands-on operation of fermentation and downstream processing equipment which was internationally recognized. This series proved to be very useful to participants to further their knowledge in Fermentation Engineering and applying these skills in their own laboratories.