Megha Prakash Bangalore
London,UK
Summary
Accomplished stem cell researcher and bioprocessing expert with over 14 years of experience spanning academia and industry, including 4 years in program leadership roles. Demonstrated success in leading diverse, cross-functional projects from ideation to successful delivery, . Skilled in stakeholder engagement across all levels—including senior management, vendors, and global teams—along with risk management, budgeting and resource planning.
Recognised for creative problem-solving, strategic thinking and building strong collaborative relationships to drive innovation. Passionate about advancing Cellular Agriculture, Biopharmaceutical and Advanced Therapies with a proven track record of delivering cell culture media and bioprocessing-based solutions tailored to evolving industry needs.
Overview
16
16
years of professional experience
13
13
years of post-secondary education
Work history
Proof of Concept Programme (PoC) Manager
Imperial College London
London
12.2024 - 07.2025
- Manage the PoC programme under the £2.5M EPSRC-funded SynbiCITE initiative to support and commercialise early-stage Engineering/Synthetic Biology projects
- Successfully organised two PoC programme events and served on the review committee for the first stage, assessing 27 teams from UK universities and SMEs
- Organised and attended the Business Basics course 2025 which covered key aspects of business establishment, business plan, IP and finance from experts in the field.
- Organised the Industry Club meeting, bringing together 25+ leading UK Engineering Biology companies to strengthen the ecosystem
- Increased SynbiCITE's visibility on LinkedIn, achieving a 68% engagement rate within the first four months
- Mentoring early-stage companies on commercialisation strategy, including exit planning (trade sale vs IPO), competitor analysis and product definition
CellAg Mentorship Programme
09.2024 - 12.2024
- Mentored two early career scientists in the inaugural CellAg Mentorship Program aimed at supporting women passionate about pursuing a career in cellular agriculture
Research Head
Micregen Ltd.
Reading
11.2021 - 10.2023
- Led the human pluripotent stem cell (HPSC) stream with a focus on media optimization and small scale bioreactor operations
- Established HPSC 3D cultures, optimized process parameters and culture conditions necessary for the development and production of a novel therapeutic Secretomix
- Defined validation assays, both upstream and downstream
- End to end management of project lifecycle: from study start up and business case development to design, implementation and monitoring of detailed experimental modules
- Trainer for all stem cell culture related techniques such as pluripotency assessment, differentiation, immunostaining, confocal microscopy imaging and flow cytometry analyses
Associate Principal Scientist
Lonza Biologics
Slough
09.2019 - 10.2021
- Led and coordinated cell culture media optimisation projects for the Lonza proprietary platform process with a focus on GS-CHO cells producing biotherapeutics.
- One of these projects directly contributed to the successful launch of TheraPRO CHO Production Medium into the market which is a simple and ready to use media reducing production costs by 75%.
- SME for media formulation and filled in as group leader for the initial six months which gave me an insight into the working of a contract research organization
- Developed a good understanding of ambr15 and bioreactor operations working closely with the upstream process team
- Worked closely with different global stakeholders involved in media development and met customer requirements and targets
- Trainer for GMP lab activities such as aseptic cell culture, media preparation, ambr15 operation
Research Associate
Imperial College London
London
08.2017 - 08.2019
- Investigated the role of lipid metabolism in mouse embryonic stem cells using various tools such as flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, Seahorse XF analyser and small molecule mediated pathway delineation of lipid metabolism
- Developed a FRET sensor to further understand stem cell metabolism in real-time
- Divisional Post-doc representative engaging in various developmental, social and scientific activities for Post-docs
- Supervised Master's student and trained exchange students on stem cell culture techniques
Research Fellow/PhD scholar
NCBS, Bangalore
India
09.2009 - 05.2017
- Conducted two doctoral research projects on cell culture media effects and serotonin's role in pluripotent stem cells using confocal microscopy and flow cytometry.
- Managed laboratory inventory to ensure availability of essential resources.
- Served as teaching assistant during fourth Stem Cell workshop organised by In-Stem and NCBS, Bangalore.
Education
PhD - Effects of serotonin and culture media on pluripotent stem cells
Manipal University/NCBS
09.2009 - 05.2017
MSc - Medical Biochemistry
Manipal University
07.2006 - 06.2009
BSc - Chemistry, Botany, Zoology
Bangalore University
06.2003 - 04.2006
Skills
- Leadership and Project Management: Programme leadership, project planning, vendor engagement, budget management, risk mitigation, record keeping and documentation
- Collaboration and Training: Teamwork, collaboration, training and mentoring, communication with multidisciplinary teams and global stakeholders
- Bioprocessing and Optimization: Bioprocess simplification, culture media optimization, cGMP compliance, product specification and release criteria establishment
- Technical Proficiency: HPSC 3D culture, bioreactor operation, stem cell culture and differentiation, aseptic cell culture, confocal microscopy, flow cytometry, immunocytochemistry, live-imaging, image analyses, metabolic assays, RT q-PCR, Western blotting and stable cell line generation
Grants
- Received the EMBO short term fellowship (ASTF 472015) to undertake a research project titled “Role of serotonin in reprogramming of mouse fibroblasts” in the laboratory of Prof. Dr. Michael Bader at MDC, Berlin, Germany, September 2015
- Qualified for the Junior Research Fellowship in the National level CSIR UGC-NET, December 2008
Affiliations
Badminton: Participate in community led events and winner in the mixed doubles category of Bandhavya Cup 2024 organised by Derby Kannadigaru.
Work presentations
- Virtual poster presentation at the Bioprocessing Summit Europe, July 2020
- Oral presentations at Stem Cells @ Lunch, King's College London, April 2018 (featured in a podcast) and at Stem Cell Forum, Francis Crick Institute, London, February 2018
- Poster presentations at the Bioprocessing Summit Europe (July 2020); 2016 Till and McCulloch Meetings, Whistler, BC (October 2016); EMBO Meeting 2015, Birmingham, United Kingdom (September 2015); 12th annual conference of International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), Vancouver, Canada (June 2014)
Timeline
Proof of Concept Programme (PoC) Manager
Imperial College London
12.2024 - 07.2025
CellAg Mentorship Programme
09.2024 - 12.2024
Research Head
Micregen Ltd.
11.2021 - 10.2023
Associate Principal Scientist
Lonza Biologics
09.2019 - 10.2021
Research Associate
Imperial College London
08.2017 - 08.2019
PhD - Effects of serotonin and culture media on pluripotent stem cells
Manipal University/NCBS
09.2009 - 05.2017
Research Fellow/PhD scholar
NCBS, Bangalore
09.2009 - 05.2017
MSc - Medical Biochemistry
Manipal University
07.2006 - 06.2009
BSc - Chemistry, Botany, Zoology
Bangalore University
06.2003 - 04.2006
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