ECI Honors Professor Wei-Shou Hu for Four Decades of Leadership in Cell Culture Engineering

Professor Wei-Shou Hu’s career was honored at the 2025 biennial Engineering Conference International (ECI) on Cell Culture Engineering in a session titled “Celebrating Four Decades of Cell Culture Engineering: Honoring Wei-Shou Hu’s Legacy.” Over 30 past and present trainees and UMN colleagues were in attendance at the conference. The Cell Culture Engineering Conference was co-founded by Professor Hu in 1988, and it remains the leading conference that brings together global leaders and experts from the academic, industrial and regulatory communities to advance the development and manufacturing of an ever-growing range of biologics-based therapies.

Professor Hu is a Distinguished McKnight University Professor. His research encompasses cell culture bioprocesses ranging from protein biologics to cells for therapeutic applications, focusing on exploiting complex systems analysis and design to advance bioprocess technology. His contributions to the field of biochemical engineering have been recognized by numerous awards, including the Marvin Johnson Award from the Biochemical Technology Division of the American Chemical Society, the Amgen Award for Biochemical Engineering from ECI, and the Food, Pharmaceutical, and Bioengineering Division Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

The full measure of Professor Hu’s impact is his legacy as an extraordinary mentor and educator. Throughout his 40-year career at the University of Minnesota, Professor Hu has mentored 94 graduate students and 53 postdocs and visiting scholars. His trainees have gone on to a variety of careers and include academics across 5 continents as well as leaders who have shaped the biopharmaceutical industry. Collectively, they have been involved in the development of over 50 commercial therapeutics and are currently at 70 companies worldwide. His trainees have also gone on to careers in medicine, law, education, politics, and more.

In addition to authoring seminal textbooks in the field of cell culture technologies, Professor Hu developed the preeminent training course on cell culture engineering for members of the biopharmaceutical industry. The Cellular Bioprocess Technology short course, which he founded as an assistant professor in 1986, has trained over 5000 engineers and scientists both in its annual offering at UMN, which will celebrate its 40th consecutive year this summer, and at company sites and research institutions across 4 continents.

Congratulations Professor Wei-Shou Hu! 

Learn more about his work at his research group's website.