Biography
John G. Aunins is the President of Janis Biologics.
Dr. Aunins has more than 35 years of experience in the biotechnology industry, with a focus in bioprocess development, manufacturing support, and project leadership. He led process and product development teams at Merck Research Laboratories for Vaqta®, Varivax®, Zostavax®, ProQuad®, Rotateq®, and Gardasil®. The Vaqta and Gardasil process teams were awarded with ACS Industrial Biotechnology Awards for innovation, contribution to bioengineering, and societal impact. At Seres Therapeutics, he was responsible for all Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) for a novel class of Live Microbial Products (LBPs), which culminated in licensure of Vowst®, the world’s first designed LBP. His current company Janis Biologics consults on CMC issues in the biotech industry.
Dr Auniņs is also a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and has been awarded with D.I.C Wang Award for Excellence in Biochemical Engineering.
He has authored over 65 articles and book chapters, and has chaired five international conferences in vaccines and bioprocess technology.
Dr. Aunins earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from MIT in 1989, under Institute Professor Daniel I.C. Wang and is also a Visiting Professor at ITQB NOVA.