Prof Paul Watts started his career as a lecturer at the University of Hull in 2002, being promoted to full professor in 2011. At the University of Hull he led the micro reactor and flow technology group. In February 2013, he moved to Nelson Mandela University to hold the distinguished position of ‘Research Chair in Microfluidic Bio/Chemical Processing’.  He has published of over 120 highly cited papers. He strongly believes that scientists should conduct research that impacts society; the biggest project underway involves the local production of key drugs as the morbidity and mortality from major diseases are much more devastating in Africa than in other regions of the world.  The vision is that new technology will be used within South Africa to manufacture generic drugs; this could create jobs and a new manufacturing industry within the country. 

Dr. Shu Kobayashi studied at The University of Tokyo, receiving his Ph.D. in 1988 working under the direction of Professor T. Mukaiyama. Following an initial period as an assistant professor, he was promoted to lecturer then associate professor at Science University of Tokyo (SUT). In 1998, he moved to the Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, as a full professor. In 2007, he was appointed to his current position as professor of organic chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, The University of Tokyo.

Professor Kobayashi held various visiting professorships, including the Universite Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg (1993), Kyoto University (1995), Nijmegen University (1996), Philipps-University of Marburg (1997), Paris Sud (2010), and ESPCI (2016). Professor Kobayashi has wide-ranging research interests that include the development of new synthetic methods and novel catalysts, organic reactions in water, solid-phase and flow synthesis, total synthesis of biologically interesting compounds, and organometallic chemistry. He has held numerous named lectureships and is a recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Chemical Society of Japan Award for Young Chemists (1991), Springer Award in Organometallic Chemistry (1997), IBM Science Award (2001), Organic Reactions Lecturer (2002), Nagoya Silver Medal (2002), Mitsui Chemical Catalysis Science Award (2005), JSPS Prize (2005), the Arthur C. Cope Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society (2006), Howard Memorial Lecturer (2006), C.S. Hamilton Award (2006), Merck-Cambridge Lecturer (2007), Boehringer Ingelheim Lecturer (2009), Humboldt Research Award (2013), Green Chemistry Minister of Education Award (2013), Green Chemistry Minister of Education Award (2013), Honorary Professor, Wuhan Institute of Technology (2013), TUM-IAS Honorary Hans Fischer Senior Fellow (2013), Honorary Professor, Wuhan University of Technology (2014), Association for the Advancement of Science(AAAS) Fellow (2015), Toray Science and Technology Prize (2016), Honorary Professor, Hebei Engineering University (2016), Negishi Award (2018), Chemical Society of Japan Award (2019), The T.-Y. Luh Lectureship Award (2019).

Christian H. Hornung is a Principle Research Scientist and Group Leader at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Melbourne, Australia, which he joined in 2010. He received a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from the Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen, Germany in 2004 and his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Cambridge University, UK in 2008, where he worked in the groups of Prof. Malcolm R. Mackley and Prof. Steven V. Ley.
Christian has over 20 years of experience working in the flow chemistry and microreactor technology area on the interface between chemistry and engineering. He is the director of FloWorks, CSIRO’s industry facing tech-transfer facility, which provides access to lab and pilot-scale process R&D services to the pharmaceutical, fine chemical and related manufacturing industries.
Christian’s recent research interests include work on microreactor engineering, process intensification for the chemical manufacturing sector, 3D metal printing of reactors, hierarchical catalysts, distributed manufacturing, hydrogen generation from LOHCs and ammonia, CO2 upgrading and the integration of machine learning and automated process optimisation with continuous flow.

Lana Borukhova, born in 1987 in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), graduated with a double degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey), received her MSc degree in Process Engineering at Eindhoven University of Technology under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Volker Hessel. She continued her apprenticeship in the group of Prof. Dr. Volker Hessel in collaboration with Ajinomoto OmniChem N.V. and defended her Ph.D. thesis in 2016 on Flow reactor networks for the integrated synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients. She started her carrier at Janssen Pharmaceutica as a Process Engineer in API Small Molecule Development. Subsequently, she moved to Innosyn B.V. to specialize in delivering sustainable solutions within process engineering using continuous processing. She relied on data-rich experimentation to rapidly optimize and develop continuous processes for pharmaceutical, fragrance and polymer-based products. She joined Sanofi in 2022 to industrialize continuous manufacturing for drug substance in small molecule API. Currently, she is leading DS Industrialization Projects & Advanced Manufacturing team in MSAT, Aramon. Her current interest lies in advanced process control and hybrid manufacturing, where continuous processing is merged with continued batch processing.

Jean-Christophe is Full Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Liège and Principal Investigator at the Walloon Excellence (WEL) Research Institute. With a PhD from the Université Catholique de Louvain, and postdoctoral positions at Ghent University, University of Florida, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he has extensive experience in organic synthesis, chemical engineering, and flow process technologies.

Jean-Christophe established the Center for Integrated Technology and Organic Synthesis (CiTOS) at the University of Liège in 2013 and leads the first European Corning® Advanced-Flow™ Reactor Qualified Lab. In 2022, he founded FloW4all, a Flow Technology Platform in Wallonia focused on training, technology transfer, and industry services. He is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Flow Chemistry.

Kevin van Eeten, Director of Development at Flowid in the Netherlands, is an expert in driving the transition to continuous manufacturing in specialty chemical, food, aroma, and pharmaceutical industries. He began his career by conducting fundamental research on rotor-stator spinning disc reactors, earning a PhD cum laude in hydrodynamics and reactor engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Kevin leverages his expertise, academic insights, and industry experience to shape the transition from batch to continuous manufacturing. His ability to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical implementation ensures business continuity, economic viability, increased safety, and in effect more renewable processing.

Anil Kumar is currently a Professor at Chemistry Department IIT Bombay.  He also serves as President of the Society for Polymer Science, India. His group's research interests are in the area of Continuous Process Intensification via Flow, Electro and Mechano organic chemistry, Optoelectronic Devices and Materials, Nanomaterials, and Continuous Crystallization. His group has also developed many technologies including transfer of technology in the domain of handheld explosive sensors and continuous process intensification.  Based on his research, he has founded two companies “GenZ Materials” and “ChromoSight” and couple more are in pipeline. For his contribution in this field, he has been awarded with the 2017 NASI-RIL Platinum Jubilee National Award for application-oriented innovations.

Apart from research, his other hobbies are teaching, sports, technical financial analysis, magic and music.  He has developed an outreach program based on "Science & Magic" to promote teaching and practice of science among scientists, students, and research scholars. He has conducted more than 100 such workshops around the country.

Dr. Diana Silva, born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, earned her master’s degree in 2012 from the University of Puerto Rico. After a four year stay in Rome, she returned to complete a PhD in organic chemistry at University of Puerto Rico. In 2020, she joined Prof. Jean-Christophe Monbaliu’s lab at the University of Liège as a postdoctoral researcher under a NASA-funded collaboration with UPR. Her work has since then focused on the use of flow chemistry to address challenges in chemical synthesis. In 2023, she became Scientific Manager of the FloW4all platform, leading diverse flow chemistry projects for industrial partners

Stephen Born is the Co-Founder and Senior Director, Head of Scientific Affairs for Continuus Pharmaceuticals. After obtaining a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, he pursued a postdoc at MIT with Prof. Klaus Jensen in the Department of Chemical Engineering.  In the Novartis-MIT Center for Continuous Manufacturing, his flow chemistry and separations experience contributed to the success of the first integrated end-to-end demonstration for the continuous synthesis, purification, isolation, formulation, and tableting of a Novartis drug. 

In his current role, Stephen manages technical strategy by focusing on breakthrough innovation in the industry, collaborating with external partners, and proactively driving internal development programs. His pastimes include understanding how to bias equilibrium-driven processes, cooking, designing closed-loop process automation, and running long distances.

He has more than 22 years of experience in Process development, Design, Vapour phase chemistry, process safety and commercialization of Agro, speciality chemicals & Pharma intermediates. He is responsible for concept to Commercialization of Speciality and bulk Chemicals. He has been actively into Process Intensification and Flow Chemistry scale up of  hazardous reactions and has set up flow chemistry & Scale up Engineering lab at Aarti-Industries. He is focused on continuous process development and commercialization including flow chemistry  in  collaboration with Licensors.

Upendra K. Sharma obtained his PhD from the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, India. He followed this with a lecturer position at the National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, India. He was a postdoctoral fellow at KU Leuven, the University of Cambridge, the University of Eindhoven, and the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry. Additionally, he has worked as a visiting research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 2020, he joined KU Leuven as a research expert (Jr. group leader) starting his independent research career before joining the University of Missouri - St. Louis faculty. His research interests include exploring enabling technologies to address challenges in organic synthesis.

Dr. Mohamed Takhi is the Director of the Synthetics Laboratory at the United States Pharmacopeia (USP–India), where he leads pioneering efforts in advanced pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies and the development of greener synthetic processes.With a Ph.D. in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Dr. Takhi brings over 28 years of extensive experience in pharmaceutical R&D and fundamental research. His career includes valuable post-doctoral research stints in the United States and Germany, enriching his global perspective and scientific expertise.Prior to joining USP in January 2015, Dr. Takhi spent 13 years at Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and its subsidiaries, where he contributed significantly to various innovative drug development initiatives.He has an impressive academic and intellectual footprint, with 32 research publications in reputed international journals and 15 US/WO patents to his name.

At USP, Dr. Takhi currently leads initiatives focused on advanced manufacturing technologies and sustainable synthetic routes for complex molecules and reference standard candidate materials. He is also spearheading the Flow Chemistry Capability Building Project, a strategic part of USP’s Pharmaceutical Continuous Manufacturing initiative, aimed at modernizing drug production processes and enhancing quality standards worldwide.

Dr. Srinivas Oruganti is the whole-time Director of Dr. Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences (DRILS) since 2018. He also heads the Center for Process Research & Innovation, an industry-oriented chemistry research department of Dr. Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences. Dr. Oruganti received his Ph.D. in 2004 from the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, in the area of photo switchable cluster glycosides, and did his postdoctoral research at the Centre de BiophysiqueMoléculaire, CNRS in the design and synthesis of glycocluster–tumor antigenic peptide conjugates for glycotargeting of dendritic cells. He has contributed significantly to various aspects of early stage process development of active pharmaceutical ingredients ranging from therapeutic areas like diabetes, cardio-vascular, multiple sclerosis and cancer. His pivotal contributions pertain to bringing an active pharmaceutical ingredient to market as a generic drug through innovation in chemical process development and offering a strategic vantage point to any pharmaceutical company in its efforts to carve out a niche for itself in ever challenging generic drug market. With support from Government of Telangana – Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories – Laurus Labs, Dr. Oruganti spearheaded the setting up of a multi-industry centric ‘Flow Chemistry Technology Hub (FCT-Hub)’ at DRILS to reiterate the commitment to chemical process development with guiding elements of sustainability and circular economy. Under his leadership, a CoE – Center for Rare Disease Models was set-up at DRILS to amplify  efforts for rare disease research and clinician collaborations. Dr. Oruganti serves on the Advisory Committees of incubators - DST-TBI (Univ of Hyderabad), BioNest – MAHE (Manipal), SBTIC & B-Hub (Govt of Telangana), Apollo Health & Education Research Foundation (AHERF) and Monitoring Committees of CSIR’s API-AHC (Affordable Healthcare Mission) and DST’s API-KSM initiative. He is an inventor in more than 100 patents and has published over 40 research papers in leading international journals.

With over 28 years of extensive industrial experience spanning medicinal chemistry, process chemistry, and API development—including 4 years of doctoral research at the University of Hyderabad and 1 year of post-doctoral experience in the University of California, Irvine, USA- Dr. Balraju brings a wealth of expertise to the pharmaceutical sector. Complementing a strong scientific background, he also holds an MBA with a specialization in International Business. Since December 2023, Dr. Balraju has been serving as Vice President at Aarti Pharmalabs Ltd, Navi Mumbai, where he leads the CDMO division. In this role, he oversees a multidisciplinary team of over 100 professionals across R&D, AR&D, DQA, Regulatory Affairs, Process Safety, EHS, Engineering, Stores, Administration, and P&L functions.Known for a proven track record of driving operational excellence and spearheading strategic initiatives,  Dr. Balraju consistently delivers high-quality, cost-effective solutions to complex drug development and commercialization challenges. He excels in managing diverse teams, optimizing production processes, and cultivating strong partnerships with key stakeholders to accelerate development timelines while ensuring regulatory compliance and exceeding business growth objectives. Recognized for exceptional leadership and a client-centric approach, Dr. Balraju continues to contribute significantly to advancing pharmaceutical innovation and operational efficiency.

Marc Winter is an expert in the industrialization of flow processes. He works as Application Engineer Manager in Corning\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Advanced-Flow™ Reactor business since 2007 and leads the Application Engineering Team. He has already conducted many successful projects helping international customers to move to continuous production. Among the most notable ones, he supported a customer in setting up large-scale nitration under cGMP conditions for pharmaceutical production. In addition to his everyday task of assisting customers, he is a co-author of scientific articles, has submitted patents in the field of micro-reactors and flow chemistry, and has presented results at scientific conferences. Before joining Corning he gathered international experience by working in small and large-sized companies in industries like energy, food, automotive, and pharma. Marc Winter holds an engineering degree in chemical and process engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Aachen (Germany).

Dr. Bart Rimez, brings deep expertise in microreactor and crystallization technologies. Dr. Rimez earned his PhD in Engineering from Vrije Universiteit Brussel, focusing on advanced flame retardant materials. His professional journey includes key roles at Benelux-Scientific and leadership of the Flanders Microreactor and Microfluidics Consortium (FMMC), connecting with technology innovators across Europe.
In 2013, he joined the Legomedic project under Prof. B. Scheid at Université libre de Bruxelles, where he contributed to groundbreaking research in continuous crystallization. Building on this experience, Dr. Rimez co-founded Secoya Technologies in 2019, a cutting-edge Belgian company developing flow-based solutions for physicochemical processes such as crystallization, pervaporation, encapsulation, and process intensification. He currently serves as Technology Lead – Crystallization and Technical Sales Specialist at Secoya.