Co-Chairs & Keynote
Co-Chairs
Keynote
C. Oliver Kappe
Professor and Scientific Director, University of Graz and RCPE GmbH
C. Oliver Kappe is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Graz (Austria) and Scientific Director of the Center of Continuous Flow Synthesis and Processsing (CCFLOW) at RCPE GmbH. He received his diploma (1989) and his doctoral (1992) degrees in organic chemistry from the University of Graz and after two postdoctoral stays (University of Queensland and Emory University) returned to Graz in 1996 to start his independent academic career and was appointed Full Professor in 2011. Professor Kappe has an extensive general experience and a more than 30 year track record in synthetic/physical organic chemistry, and enabling synthetic technologies communicated in ~600 scientific publications. For the past two decades the focus of his research has been directed towards flow chemistry/continuous processing technology, encompassing a wide variety of synthetic transformations and experimental techniques. Recent emphasis has been put on green and sustainable API manufacturing technologies, including photochemistry, electrochemistry, mechanochemistry and using water as reaction medium.
Andrew Rutter
Consultant and Visiting Professor, Rutterdesign
Andrew Rutter FREng, is a consultant specialising in Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, and the economics of supply chains. He advises pharmaceutical companies, governments, and equipment suppliers on programmes to adopt technologies like Continuous Manufacture, and Modularisation. He is a Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University, and is actively researching methodologies for linking Chemistry, Engineering and Supply Chain decisions. Prior to consulting, he spent 20 years leading GSK’s Advanced Manufacturing Programme, and was a member of ICH Q13 Expert Working Group.
Anita R. Maguire
School of Chemistry & School of Pharmacy,
Analytical and Biological Chemistry Research Facility,
SSPC, the Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals,
University College Cork
Professor Anita R. Maguire studied at University College Cork, focusing during her PhD on asymmetric catalysis. Following postdoctoral research at Namur, Belgium and subsequently at Exeter, she returned to Cork in 1991 to establish an independent research team. She is currently Head of the School of Chemistry and Director of UCC Future Pharmaceuticals. She is a PI in SSPC, the Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals. Her research interests include development of novel synthetic methodology employing a-diazocarbonyl compounds and organosulfur chemistry, asymmetric catalysis, flow chemistry and the design and synthesis of bioactive compounds.
She was the inaugural chair of Ireland’s National Research Integrity Forum, 2015-2024. She was elected as a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2014, Vice President of the Royal Irish Academy for 2019-22 and chaired the Diversity Committee of the RIA for 2019-2023. She became Vice President of the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland in 2025. She was Vice President for Research and Innovation at University College Cork for 2011-2021. She chairs the ERC Advanced Grants panel PE5 Synthetic Chemistry & Materials 2023-26.
B. Frank Gupton, Ph.D.
Floyd D. Gottwald Chaired Professor
Department Chair, Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering
Founder of the Medicines for All Institute
Dr. Frank Gupton is a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University with joint appointments in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical and Life Science Engineering. He is the Floyd D. Gottwald Chair of Pharmaceutical Engineering and Chair of the Department of Chemical and Life Science Engineering. Before joining VCU, Dr. Gupton spent 30 years in industry, serving as Executive Director of North American Process Development for Boehringer Ingelheim, where he led the commercialization of the HIV drug nevirapine.
Dr. Gupton’s research focuses on improving pharmaceutical manufacturing through continuous processing, process intensification, innovative chemistry, and advanced catalysts. His work emphasizes both economic and environmental sustainability in drug production. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from University of Richmond and graduate degrees in organic chemistry from Georgia Institute of Technology and VCU.
He is the recipient of several major honors, including the 2018 American Chemical Society Award for Affordable Green Chemistry, the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award, and the 2019 Peter J. Dunn Award for Green Chemistry and Engineering Impact in the Pharmaceutical Industry. These awards recognized his work developing a more efficient manufacturing process for nevirapine, a key HIV treatment.
In 2018, Dr. Gupton received National Science Foundation funding to establish the Center for Rational Catalyst Synthesis, a collaboration among VCU, the University of South Carolina, and University of California, Berkeley. His research has also been supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and federal initiatives focused on strengthening U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing and access to essential medicines.
