Rosane Rech

I have dedicated 30 years to the field of biotechnology and bioprocess engineering. My journey began in Brazil, where I earned my bachelor's, master's, and PhD, combining chemical engineering with cellular and molecular biology. This unique mix gave me the ability to transition between the engineering area and the biological area. I spent 18 years as a university professor, and one of my proudest achievements was building up a whole new research area and lab focused on microalgae and photobioreactors. Over 10 years, I mentored 5 or 6 PhD students, master's students, and undergrad students who performed their theses and dissertations in my lab. In 2018, at age 45, I made a life-changing decision to leave my stable position and immigrate to Canada, even though I couldn't put together a sentence in English at the time. After establishing myself in Canada, I was hired by a startup company specializing in bioreactors and biotechnology. Two years later, the startup was acquired by ABAC, a U.S. company where I currently work remotely. I recently moved to the United States. Today, I lead a group of process scientists, mentoring them and serving as a subject matter expert in my field. My work involves talking to customers, scoping projects, planning protocols for testing, and reviewing and organizing reports both internally and for customers. My area focuses on how to grow cells to produce biopharmaceuticals.