Yuguo Lei

About Yuguo Lei

I am a Professor at Penn State University and the Faculty Director of the Sartorius Cell Culture Facility. With multidisciplinary experience across industry, academia, and consulting, my work bridges chemistry, engineering, and regenerative medicine to solve critical challenges in biomanufacturing.Core Expertise- Biomanufacturing: Automated, large-scale production of cells, viruses, extracellular vesicles (EVs), Exosomes and mitochondria- Advanced Culture: 3D culture, Scaffolds, iPSCs, MSCs, and T cells- Emerging Applications: Cell culture meat production.Currently, I lead the Lei Lab, where we are working on enabling tools for automated, scalable, and cost-effective cell and gene production.

Experience

1. Chair, Advanced Biomanufacturing Special Interest Group (Abiom Sig)

   Biomedical Engineering Society

   Dec 2025 — Present

   Leading a specialized community of researchers and industry professionals dedicated to advancing the field of biomanufacturing- Strategic Leadership: Directing initiatives to address critical challenges in automated and scalable cell/gene production, tissue fabrication, in vitro models, AI integration, and workforce development- Community Building: Fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and regulatory bodies to accelerate the translation of complex biologics and advanced therapies- Key Focus Areas: Biomanufacturing scale-up, AI/ML applications, tissue fabrication, in vitro models, and workforce development.

Education

• Peking University

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Chemistry

• UCLA

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

• UCLA

  Doctor of Philosophy - PhD, Chemical Engineering-biomaterials

  2006 — 2010

• The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

  Master of Philosophy - MPhil, Polymer Science

• University of California, Berkeley

  Postdoc, regenerative medicine

  2010 — 2014

• UCLA

  Master of Science - MS, Pharmacology

  2004 — 2006