Rate My Professor Sivanadane Mandjiny

Sivanadane Mandjiny is a Professor and Director of the Biotechnology Research and Training Center at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where his contributions in Agricultural and Veterinary Science advance biomanufacturing and bioseparations. He earned a B.Tech. from the University of Madras, an M.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology New Delhi, and M.Eng. and Ph.D. degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland. Mandjiny joined the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 1996 as a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry and Physics, rising to the rank of Professor. He served as Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Physics until 2024 and concurrently directs the Biotechnology Research and Training Center located at COMTECH in Pembroke. In recognition of his teaching excellence, Mandjiny received the 2015 UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Mandjiny's academic interests center on bioprocessing and bioseparations, with a focus on biomanufacturing processes using green fluorescent protein as a model protein. His research encompasses upstream processing, including cell line selection, cell stocking, and fermentation to produce proteins, as well as downstream processing involving centrifugation, homogenization, filtration, and chromatographic techniques. He investigates ion exchange chromatography with solid matrices such as nylon and polyvinyl alcohol membranes, Sepharose, and silica gel beads to assess protein binding capacities, binding constants, and adsorption capacities for optimization in the pharmaceutical industry. Mandjiny also explores fermentation of other proteins and enzymes, alongside tangential flow filtration. His scholarly output includes studies on biological control of agricultural insect pests, such as the entomopathogenic bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens and nematodes. Notable publications are "Biological Control of Agriculture Insect Pests" co-authored with Leonard Holmes and Devang Upadhyay in the European Scientific Journal (2016), "A Comparative Analysis of Entomoparasitic Nematodes" in Open Journal of Animal Sciences (2013), and "Attractant Role of Bacterial Bioluminescence of Photorhabdus luminescens" published by Science Publishing Group. Through his leadership of the Biotechnology Center, equipped with advanced labs in fermentation, molecular biology, and life sciences, Mandjiny facilitates collaborations with industry, government, and academic partners to promote innovation and workforce development in agriculture, manufacturing, environmental science, and biomedicine.