Associate Professor
Department of Chemical Engineering
Associate Member
McMaster School of Biomedical Engineering
Research Interests
The overarching theme of my research group is the development and optimization of novel separation processes. Toward this end, we typically focus on microscale processes (MSP) – the study of conventional processes (e.g. chromatography, membrane filtration, adsorption) but in miniaturized formats such as micro-columns, micro-well plates, and microfluidic devices. The advantages of this approach are considerable – it is extremely cost-effective since it requires minimal amounts of material and it is very efficient since it uses a parallel architecture approach. Our research uses a unique combination of experimental work, statistical analysis, and advanced tools for sample characterization and process modelling.
Microscale processing in environmental engineering:
We are developing novel separation processes for a variety of ‘tough-to-treat’ applications including tailings (i.e. suspensions of clay particles) from mining operations, biosolids from municipal WW treatment, and vegetable ‘wash-water’ from agricultural processing. Our work includes both physical, chemical and biological-based processes including the development of the first ever high-throughput microscale stirred cell filtration device for flat sheet membranes, the first ever high-throughput microscale filtration device for hollow fiber membranes, a lab-scale anaerobic digester featuring recuperative thickening technology. Our lab is home to the Micro-scale Separations and Analysis Suite (MSAS), a collection of specialized equipment that is essential for the execution and analysis of micro-scale experiments, that was supported by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), Ontario Research Fund (ORF), and NSERC Research Tools and Instrumentation (RTI) programs.
Downstream purification of oncolytic viruses:
We are working to solve the considerable challenges associated with the downstream purification of oncolytic viruses (OVs), an innovative anti-cancer therapeutic that has attracted considerable attention. The establishment of a cost-effective OV manufacturing process is critically dependent on the development of new technologies for downstream processing – the finished product must be of a sufficiently high purity and immunogenic activity (to fulfill regulatory demands) that is ready for clinical trials and full-scale commercialization. This work is being done in collaboration with scientists at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and University of Toronto through the Alliance for Biotherapeutics Manufacturing Innovation (ABMI).
Positions Available:
A. Premachandra, S. O’Brien, N. Perna, J. McGivern, R. LaRue, and D. R. Latulippe
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH AND DESIGN
M. J. Larocque, D. R. Latulippe, and C.-F. de Lannoy
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
Kawka, Karina, A. Noelle Wilton, Eric J. Redmond, Maria Fe C. Medina, Brian D. Lichty, Raja Ghosh, and David R. Latulippe
WATER RESEARCH 95 (2016) 39-47
E. Wright, K. Kawka, M. F. C. Medina, and D. R. Latulippe
MEMBRANES, VOL. 12, NO. 4.
R. J. LaRue, B. Patterson, S. O’Brien, and D. R. Latulippe
ACS ES&T WATER, VOL. 2, NO. 6. AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY (ACS)
P. Morkus, M. Zolfaghari, S. A. Kordkandi, J. Nease, C. D. M. Filipe, and D. R. Latulippe
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, VOL. 54, NO. 1. AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY (ACS)
I joined McMaster in July 2012 following post-doctoral work (in the School of Applied and Engineering Physics at Cornell University) on the development of microscale technologies for biological systems. Prior to that, I completed my Ph.D. (in the Department of Chemical Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University) on the development of membrane filtration processes for DNA purification. Between my undergraduate and master’s degrees I worked in the membrane manufacturing division at ZENON Environmental (now SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions) on the design and development of hollow-fiber membrane systems for water treatment. In 2014 I was awarded the Young Membrane Scientist Award from the North American Membrane Society and in 2018 I was awarded an Early Researcher Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Science. Also, in 2020 I was named the inaugural Education Innovation Fellow by the North American Membrane Society for my work on developing educational initiatives that introduce membrane technologies into the undergraduate engineering curriculum.
Code | Title | Instructor | Outline | Info |
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CHEM ENG 4M03 Undergraduate | Separation Processes |
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CHEM ENG 2O04 Undergraduate | Fluid Mechanics |
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