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Education & Academic Profile
Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT)

Postdoctoral Fellow

09/2025 – PresentDaejeon, Korea
Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH), M.Sc./Ph.D, Department of Chemical Engineering
  • •Development of Self-Driving Laboratories for Chemical Processes

    • 2021 – 2025Pohang, Korea
    Sharif University of Science and Technology, B.Sc., Department of Chemical Engineering
    2012 – 2017Tehran, Iran
    Research Summary
    -Development of Automated Microfluidic Platforms for Advanced Chemical Synthesis and Drug Delivery Systems
  • •Engineered integrated microfluidic reactors for diverse organic synthesis including flash chemistry, photochemistry, and electrochemistry applications
  • •Developed continuous flow processes for the synthesis of drug delivery nanocarriers including lipid-based, polymeric, and protein-based nanoparticles
  • •Implemented machine learning algorithms and real-time analytics for autonomous process optimization and control in chemical synthesis
    • -Development of Integrated Bioprocessing Systems for Nucleic Acid-Based Therapeutics
  • •Engineered automated and oscillatory platforms for optimized in-vitro transcription (IVT) of messenger RNA synthesis
  • •Automated downstream processing strategies utilizing aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS), chromatography, and membrane-based separation
    • Development of Machine Learning Frameworks for Autonomous Scientific Discovery
  • •Ensemble-based Bayesian optimization algorithms for accelerated materials discovery in self-driving laboratory systems, enabling efficient exploration of complex synthesis parameter spaces
  • •Implemented multi-task Bayesian optimization strategies for knowledge transfer across related synthesis tasks, enhancing the efficiency of automated nanoparticle and small molecule synthesis workflows
  • •Designed an in-silico discovery platform integrating generative models and Graph Neural Networks for ADMET prediction, facilitating rational design of lipid-prodrug bioconjugates
    • Achievements
    Brain Korea 21 Fellowship (BK21), National Research Foundation
    2021
    Best Poster Awards, KICHE 23 Conference
    2023
    Excellent Paper Award, Chemical Engineering Department (POSTECH)
    2023
    Excellent Paper Award, Chemical Engineering Department (POSTECH)
    2024
    Projects
    Design and Formulation of SiC-Based 3D-Printed Ceramic Heat Exchangers, Korean Institute of Ceramic Technology (KICET)
    2022 – 2025
    Flash Precipitation of Random Copolymers for Generation of Uniform Nanoparticles Using a 3D Flow-Focusing Micro-Mixer, Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT)
    2021 – 2023
    Publications

    (Co-first authored publications are highlighted by † symbol)

    Integrated Microfluidic Platform for Quasi-Continuous High-Efficiency mRNA Production, Advanced Science- Accepted

    V Sharma,† A Mottafegh,† JU Joo,† DP Kim

    Rapid Prototyping of 3D-Printed Microchannel Heat Exchangers via AI-Driven Design and Optimization, Chemical Engineering Journal, 166129, 2025

    A Mottafegh, A Rohimmahtunnissa, DP Kim

    A Mottafegh,† JU Joo,† GS Na,† V Sharma, DP Kim

    A Mottafegh, J Yang, GS Na, DP Kim

    V Sharma,† A Mottafegh,† JU Joo, JH Kang, L Wang, DP Kim

    S Lee,† A Mottafegh,† DP Kim

    Oscillatory Microfluidic Bioreactor for Accelerated mRNA Synthesis and Enhanced Protein Expression, Chemical Engineering Journal, 164284, 2025

    V Sharma,† JU Joo,† A Mottafegh, DP Kim

    Manual to Auto-Optimization Platform of Multi-step Apixaban Synthesis⁠, Organic Process Research & Development 29 (3), 881-888, 2025

    R Chauhan, A Rana, A Mottafegh, DP Kim, AK Singh

    JU Joo, GS Na, V Sharma, A Mottafegh, DP Kim

    A Rana, R Chauhan, A Mottafegh, DP Kim, AK Singh

    M Purwa, G Chandrakanth, A Rana, A Mottafegh, S Kumar, DP Kim, AK Singh

    Autonomous closed-loop photochemical reaction optimization for the synthesis of various angiotensin II receptor blocker molecules⁠, Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 9 (9), 2427-2435, 2024

    D Aand, A Rana, A Mottafegh, DP Kim, AK Singh

    SA Kawale, DC Kang, GN Ahn, A Mottafegh, JH Kang, GS Na, DP Kim

    SJ Yim,† KW Gyak,† SA Kawale,† A Mottafegh, CH Park, Y Ko, I Kim, SS Jee, DP Lee

    M Outokesh, A Mottafegh, A Nouri-Borujerdi, S Dolati

    [Under Review/Submitted Publications]
    UV-Visible Auto-Reactometry Enabled Parallel Screening for Accelerating Chemical Synthesis Development with LLM, Under Review

    R Chauhan,† A Mottafegh,† A Rana,† DP Kim, AK Singh

    Autonomous microfluidic platform for optimization and scalable drug-loaded nanoparticle production, Under Review

    A Mottafegh†, JU Joo†, DP Kim

    AI-Guided Autonomous Chromatography Platform for On-Demand Buffer Generation and Real-Time Process Monitoring in Biomolecule Purification, To be Submitted

    V Sharma,† A Mottafegh,† DP Kim

    Patents
    Scalable Miniaturized Integrated Platform for mRNA Therapeutics Production, DP Kim, V Sharma, JU Joo, Amirreza Mottafegh

    PCT International Application 10-2024-0194382 (Application Date: 2024-12-23)

    Continuous Flow-Based Integrated Artificial Intelligence Microfluidic Platform for Optimized Drug Delivery Nanoparticle Production, DP Kim, A Mottafegh

    US Patent Application, 10-2024-0138638 (Application Date: 2024-06-07)

    AI-Guided Autonomous Chromatography Platform for On-Demand Buffer Generation and Real-Time Process Monitoring in Biomolecule Purification, DP Kim, V Sharma, A Mottafegh

    PCT International Application, IP25-00280, (Application Date: 2025-07-01)

    Conferences & Events
    KRICT ChemDX Hackathon 2025, Invited as Academic Mentor
    2025Seoul, Korea
    Canada Korea Conference in Science and Technology (CKC 2025), Invited Speaker
    2025Montreal, Canada
    Korean Flow Chemistry Exchange Meeting (KFLEX 2025), Invited Speaker
    2025Daejeon, South Korea
    Materials Research Society of Korea (MRS), Poster Presentation
    2024Jeju, South Korea
    World Biomaterial Congress (WBC 2024), Poster Presentation
    2024Daegu, South Korea
    Korean Society of Pharmaceutical Technology (KSPST), Poster Presentation
    2024Seoul, South Korea
    International Conference on High Temperature Ceramic Matrix Composites (HT-CMC24), Poster Presentation
    2023Jeju, South Korea
    Korean International Chemical Engineering Conference (KICHE), Oral Presentation
    2023Busan, South Korea
    Skills
    Computer Programming
    • •Python
    • •C/​C++
    • •Matlab
    • •R
    Computational Tools
    • •COMSOL Multiphysics (Transport Phonomons Studies)
    • •ANSYS Fluent (Transport Phonomons Studies)
    • •Molecular Dynamics (Gromacs, LAMMPS)
    • •Molecular Docking (AutoDock Vina)
    Machine Learning
    • •PyTorch
    • •TensorFlow
    • •BoTorch/​GPyTorch/​AX
    Language
    • •Persian (Native)
    • •English