David McNally

David McNally serves as Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the Francis College of Engineering, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and concurrently as Head of Process Development at MassBiologics' Vector Manufacturing Center in Fall River since 2019, managing a team of 14 researchers across direct and indirect reporting lines.

His academic foundation includes a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge (2013) with thesis research on membrane chromatography for viral vector manufacture under Professor Nigel Slater, and a First-Class BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Sheffield (2007).

Dr. McNally's research pioneers intensified viral vector production platforms and novel analytical characterization methods, driving innovation through industrial-academic partnerships coordinated via the Advanced Mammalian Biomanufacturing Innovation Center (AMBIC). His work specifically targets process efficiency gains for gene therapy vectors and viral vaccines using continuous manufacturing and advanced chromatography techniques.

His publication record (2010-2014) reveals consistent focus on chromatographic purification breakthroughs, particularly membrane-based systems for retrovirus and lentivirus processing, establishing foundational methodologies now critical to scalable gene therapy manufacturing.

He has secured $2.3 million in competitive research funding as Principal Investigator, including a $1.56M NIST grant for lentiviral vector biomanufacturing intensification and a $760k project developing continuous cell culture models for viral vaccine production.

At MassBiologics' Vector Manufacturing Center, he directs process development for clinical-grade viral vectors while advancing AMBIC's mission to transform mammalian biomanufacturing through cross-institutional collaboration and technology transfer.