Office: ECS 102, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University of Maryland Baltimore County, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore,  Maryland 21250. Phone: (410)-455-3435 Fax: (410)-455-1049	Home: 1021, Apt. # 1, Maiden Choice Lane, Kendale Apartments, Baltimore, Maryland 21229. Phone: (410)-737-8026
E-mail: sahuja1@gl.umbc.edu	Internet: http://www.gl.umbc.edu/~sahuja1/

OBJECTIVE:

Seeking  a  challenging  career  in  biotechnology  industry that provides opportunities for acquiring new skills and developing existing skills.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Fermentation, Bioprocess Development, Protein Purification

EDUCATION:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, University   of  Maryland BaltimoreCounty, Baltimore, MD 21250 (Graduation date: August 1999). GPA=3.91/4.00.

• BIOCHEMICAL REGULATORY ENGINEERING PROGRAM CONCENTRATION TRACK (Sep. '94 - May '96):

            2. Good Manufacturing Practices for Bioprocesses, Feb. '96 - May '96.

            3. Quality Control / Quality Assurance of Biotechnology Products, Sep. '94 - Dec. '94.

          4. Biotechnology GMP Facility Design, Construction and Validation, Feb. '95 - May'95.

• 5-year    Integrated    Master    of    Science     in     Biochemical     Engineering     and Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India. May 1994. GPA=8.97/10.00.

Title: Bioprocess engineering of Teredinobacter turnirae: Effect of morphology on metabolic activities of a marine bacterium

My doctorate pursuit involves understanding the metabolism of the marine bacterium, Teredinobacter turnirae. It is a gram negative, obligatory marine microorganism and produces extracellular endoglucanase and protease. The initial efforts in our lab were aimed at increasing the enzyme titers by altering the nutritional conditions. During the course of research, our group came across a different morphology of the bacterium which significantly improved the fermentation and purification process for the protease enzyme. My current efforts seek to understand the metabolic differences between the two forms of the bacterium using "bioprocess engineering", which involves the fundamental understanding of the growth process of the native bacterium and the new morphology.

Thesis Advisor: Prof. Antonio R. Moreira

MASTER'S THESIS:

Title: Enhanced polymer-protein interactions: A new precipitation mechanism at low ionic strength

A comprehensive study of the interactions of proteins (Ribonuclease A,  Soybean Trypsin
Inhibitor and Lysozyme) with dilute solution of polyacrylic acid was experimentally undertaken using turbidimetric titration. Polymer-protein complexation behaviour was studied as a function of pH (2-6), ionic strength (0-20 mM, 50-300 mM), type of salt added, environment (10 mM citrate-phosphate buffer, aqueous solution) and time. The new and interesting observation was made that at very low ionic strengths, interactions between polymer and protein are stronger than those in the case without any salt. This leads to a polymer-protein interaction regime (based on the added salt) that shows opposite behaviour from the well-known screening regime. A mechanism was proposed for the observed behaviour in the enhanced polymer-protein interaction regime. Finally, with the help of the above observation, a novel technique was proposed for the separation of proteins (Ribonuclease A and Soybean Trypsin Inhibitor). The technique is general and cost-effective. It can also be used to separate proteins with isoelectric points very close to each other on an industrial scale.

Thesis advisor: Dr. Sunil Nath

ACADEMIC HONOURS:

• 1997 initiate of Phi Kappa Phi.
• Runner-up award for the presentation on ?Effect of Morphology on Metabolic Activities of the Shipworm Bacterium?? by Sanjeev K. Ahuja, Gisela M. Ferreira and Antonio R. Moreira.

Summer-trainee,  1993,  Vam Organics,  Gajraula,  Uttar Pradesh,  India. Duties involved understanding process details for the distillery and waste-treatment plant.

ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:

• Graduate Research Assistant, May '95 till present, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. Involved in development and fundamental understanding of fermentation and purification processes of two enzymes i.e. protease and cellulase produced by the marine bacterium, Teredinobacter Turnirae.
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Aug. '94 - Dec. '94, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, UMBC. Duties involved assisting undergraduate students in understanding material and energy balances in chemical processes.
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Feb. '95 - May '95, Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, UMBC. Duties involved assisting undergraduate students in working with different word processing, computing and drawing softwares.

?Technical Insights Alert: Shipworm Bacterium Produces Unusual Enzymes?. April 4, 1997. Industrial Bioprocessing.

PUBLICATIONS:

• Ferreira   G.  M., Ahuja,   S.   K., and  A.  R.  Moreira. Utilization  of  Enzymes  for Environmental Applications (review article) (in preparation).
• Ahuja,  S.  K., Ferreira G. M., and A. R. Moreira. Production of an Endoglucanase by the Shipworm Bacterium, Teredinobacter turnirae (in preparation).
• Ferreira  G.  M.,  Ahuja S. K., and A. R. Moreira. Nutritional studies of the shipworm bacterium T. turnirae for the maximization of protease production (in preparation).
• Ahuja, S. K., Ferreira G. M. and A. R. Moreira. Marine bacterum, Teredinobacter turnirae shows extreme pleomorphism (in preparation).
• Ahuja, S. K., Ferreira G. M. and A. R. Moreira. Application of Plackett-Burman design for the fermentation medium optimization for growth of the shipworm bacterium (in preparation).

Proficient   in  basic  microbiology  techniques  including  cell  growth,  cell  plating,  cell counting, gram staining, optical microscopy, and spectrophotometry.
Familiar  with  various  analytical methods including enzymatic assays (endoglucanolytic and proteolytic), total protein assays (BCA and Bradford), and carbohydrate assays (DNS method, Phenol sulfuric acid method and enzyme based methods).
Experience in image analysis using ?NIH Imaging? software.
Extensive experience in interfacing various biosensors (including mass flow meters, mass spectrometer, pressure transmitters and cell mass sensor) with the fermentor.
Involved in the purification project of the protease enzyme, which involves ultrafiltration, chromatographic, and electrophoretic techniques.
Also involved  in  the implementation of  a  ?feed-back control?  for  the  fed-batch process for the protease production by the marine bacterium, Teredinobacter turnirae.
A broad knowledge in programming with Pascal.

RELEVANT COURSES:

Biochemistry, Principles of Modern Biology, Microbiology, Bioprocess Principles, Microbiology, Physical and chemical properties of biomolecules, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Thermodynamics of biological systems, Regulation of microbial metabolism, Bioprocess Engineering I, Bioseparations, Enzyme Science and Engineering, Bioprocess Integration, Biological Waste Treatment, Modeling and simulation of bioprocesses, Bioprocess Engineering II, Animal cell reactor engineering, Bioprocess plant design, Protein Engineering, Bioseparation Analytical Techniques, Industrial Water Pollution, Advanced Biochemical Engineering.
Data Structures, Computer Aided Design.

PRESENTATIONS:
 

REFERENCES:

Available on request.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

• Ahuja, S. K., Ferreira G. M., and A. R. Moreira, Utilization of Enzymes for Environmental Applications, in Proceedings of the VII Curso Avanzado Sobre Procesos Biotecnologicos, Biotecnologia Ambiental sponsored by Centro de Investigacion en Biotecnologia, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Morelos, and Instituto de Biotecnologia of the Universidade Nacional Autonoma de Cuernavaca, Mexico. (Submitted September 1997)
• Ahuja, S. K., Ferreira G. M., and A. R. Moreira. Production of an Endoglucanase by the Shipworm Bacterium, Teredinobacter Turnirae (in preparation).
• Ferreira G. M., Ahuja S. K., and A. R. Moreira. Nutritional studies of the shipworm bacterium T. turnirae for the maximization of protease production (in preparation).