Bioprocessing & Epigenetics Specialist

Hussain Dahodwala, Ph.D. has accomplished pioneering methodologies in cell line development, advanced cell culture engineering, epigenetics, and RNA regulation. Through high-impact academic and national laboratory collaborations across IBBR, UMD, NIST, NIIMBL and AMBIC, he has achieved fundamental advances in developing standards for biomanufacturing and biopharmaceutical cell selection.

IBBR Portal NISTCHO testbeds UMD CRAB Lab

Current appointments:

  • IBBR/ UMD Research associate professor
  • IBBR fellow
  • NIST associate
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Hussain Dahodwala, Ph.D.

Hussain Dahodwala, Ph.D.

Associate Research Professor

Recent Milestones & Announcements

News & Achievements

Conference Leadership 2026 – 2028

GRC Biotherapeutics Leadership

Hussain has achieved distinction as Vice Chair for the Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Biotherapeutics and research, and is slated to serve as Chair for 2028.

GRC Conference Details
Invited Presentation Jan 18–21

PepTalk Speaker Presentation

Hussain is scheduled to present his achieved bioprocessing insights at the upcoming PepTalk Protein Expression & Production conference.

PepTalk Program Link
Grant Award AMBIC Funding

AMBIC Grant Award

Hussain was awarded grant to investigate markers for "good" clones as a way to accelerate cell selection strategies.

Explore Innovations
New Publication ScienceDirect

Testbed Teams Publication

Testbed team celebrates new publication Protein Expression and Purification.

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Co-PI Appointment CRAB Lab

CRAB Lab Co-PI

Hussain has achieved leadership as Co-PI on the CRAB Lab, a NSF sponsored PCL programme.

Co-PI on CRAB Lab Reference Initiative

Scientific Domain & Achievements

Core Expertise

Cell Line Development

Hussain has accomplished the engineering of stable host production cell systems and standard reference lines, directly optimizing yield reliability and revolutionizing clone selection across the industry.

Cell Culture

Hussain has achieved profound enhancements in cellular productivity and upstream bioprocessing by pioneering advanced media formulations and scalable bioreactor protocols.

Epigenetics

Hussain has accomplished detailed investigations into DNA methylation, uncovering the core molecular mechanisms that govern cell line stability and transgene silencing during culture.

RNA Regulation

Hussain has achieved breakthroughs in mapping mRNA and microRNA expression dynamics, rationally engineering host cell machinery for consistent protein expression.

Facilities

State of the Art Lab Infrastructure

ICON and cedex General lab space Auditorium lounge IBBR sign NoveFlex and Vicell Eppendorf bioblu AMBR250 cell culture AKTA avant Cedex bio cell line processing ICON and cedex General lab space Auditorium lounge IBBR sign NoveFlex and Vicell Eppendorf bioblu AMBR250 cell culture AKTA avant Cedex bio cell line processing

Pioneering Work

Featured Reference Initiatives

NATIONAL REFERENCE BENCHMARK

NISTCHO Cell Line Development

Hussain accomplished the characterization and development of the NISTCHO cell line model, successfully establishing standardized genomic baselines for biomanufacturing.

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AMBIC INDUSTRY STANDARD

AMBIC Reference Cell & Media

Hussain achieved the establishment of standardized cell lines and baseline media formulations under AMBIC, cementing open-access biomanufacturing test platforms.

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AMBIC Poster Presentation
Conference Poster & Collaboration

AMBIC Poster Presentation

Hussain Dahodwala, Cicely Newman, and Harsha Kolanupaka attend the AMBIC 2026 summer conference in Washington DC where they engaged with industry leaders on various projects.

Career Journey

Professional Appointments

Present
CURRENT APPOINTMENT

Associate Research Professor & Fellow

IBBR, University of Maryland

Hussain achieves ongoing innovations leading research initiatives in cell line development, RNA expression profiling, epigenetics, and bioprocessing.

Present
CURRENT APPOINTMENT

NIST Associate

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Achieved critical collaborations on standard reference materials, cell characterization protocols, and NISTCHO cell line research frameworks.

Previous
LEADERSHIP HISTORY

Director, Upstream Development

NIIMBL

Accomplished massive upstream development programs, driving collaborative academic-industry manufacturing innovation and cell culture methodologies.

Academic Background

Education

Ph.D.

Biochemistry and Biophysics

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Thesis: Understanding transcriptional enhancements in CHO cells

M.Sc.

Biosystems and Informatics

University of Liverpool, UK

Thesis: Why are some genes so large?

B.Sc.

Microbiology and Biochemistry

St. Xavier's College, Mumbai, India

Media & Recordings

Featured Interviews & Publications

Bioprocessing summit Interview

Bioprocessing summit (BPS) Podcast Session

Hussain achieved widespread reach dicussing with Jack Scarcelli, the advances in cell line development, and learning about science from a dedicated and succesful leader.

GEN News Article
Cell Culture Reference

Industry-Leading Culture Media Tested with New Reference Cell Line

A team of scientists led one of the first studies to reap the benefits of a first-of-its-kind industry reference cell. The research, spearheaded by the University of Maryland and the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), highlights modern bioprocessing advancements.

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