Christine (Chris) is a Lehigh chemical engineering alumna. She is presently a Sr. Director Small Molecule Regulatory CMC, Takeda.
Chris previously was a senior director in Regulatory Chemistry and Manufacturing Controls at Pfizer Inc., where she led regulatory strategy and implementation for a portfolio of biological projects across all phases of drug development and commercialization. She has led the regulatory strategy for products such as Xalkori, Xanax, and Viagra. She also led chemical process development research teams at Pharmacia Corporation and at G.D. Searle for products such as Celebrex and Inspra. Chris served on the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Board of Directors and was the 2018 AIChE president. She serves on the Society of Biological Engineering Board of Directors and was the founding chair of the AIChE Pharmaceutical Discovery Development and Manufacturing Forum. She was elected as an AIChE Fellow in 2011 (the youngest member ever elected Fellow) and received the AIChE Epstein Award for Technical Programming in 2012.
Chris has been a member of the DAC since 2017 and previously served as the chair of the advisory council for Lehigh’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Chris serves on advisory boards for the chemical engineering departments at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Arizona. She is an invited lecturer at the Albany School of Pharmacy. She regularly presents on pharmaceutical research and development as well as regulatory strategy and recently edited the book Comprehensive Quality by Design for Pharmaceutical Product Development and Manufacture.
Chris has chemical engineering degrees from Lehigh University (BS) and from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (PhD) as well as a MS in regulatory affairs from Temple University. She is also a yoga instructor (200 RYT).
Chris lives in East Lyme, CT, with her husband, Regan (of 28 thousand years, as he says), who is also a chemical engineer. They are thrilled that 100 percent of their children are attending Lehigh! Samantha (class of 2021) completed her BS in chemical engineering and is working on her PhD at Oregon State. They are hoping that Gavin (class of 2025) will continue the family business and major in ChE. Chris’ brother, Ken Barner ’86, is also a Lehigh grad (electrical engineering). The Seymours keep busy with endless house projects, and for vacations, they like to go on epic camping and hiking journeys in national parks.
Recent Awards:
- Marquis Who's Who for Excellence in Chemical Engineering, 2021
- University of Massachusetts, College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award, 2021
- Woman of Innovation from the Connecticut Technology Council and Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, 2020
