Prof. Schwaneberg is a German chemist and protein engineer. He is the Chair of Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University and a Member of the Scientific Board of Directors DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials in Aachen. He received his doctorate degree from the group of Prof. R. D. Schmid at the University of Stuttgart. After his post-doctoral research in the lab of future Nobel Laureate Prof. Frances H. Arnold (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018) at Caltech, he established his research group at Jacobs University Bremen, and later joined as a Chair of the Institute of Biotechnology – RWTH Aachen University and DWI – Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials.
He is widely regarded for his contributions in revolutionizing the field of protein engineering and biocatalysis. His pioneering works include diversity generation methods (e.g., SeSaM, OmniChange, and cepPCR), as well as high-throughput screening systems (e.g. Fur-Shell). He has received numerous honors and awards, including coordinator of the BioökonomieREVIER initiative to mitigate climate change in the Rhineland mining area, Vice President of the Bio-catalysis division of the European Federation of Biotechnology, and also co-founded SeSaM-Biotech GmbH, which offers directed evolution services. His research group is generously supported by major funding agencies in Germany (e.g., 26.3 million € for Bio4MatPro Project for 2022-2026). So far, his leadership contributed to more than 340 publications in international journals and more than 20 international patents.

website │ @SchwanebergG │ email

Jan Marienhagen is heading the group “Synthetic Cell Factories” at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG-1) of the Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Germany. He is also Professor at Institute of Biotechnology of the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. The research of his group focuses on the metabolic engineering of microorganisms for the biotechnological production of value-added compounds from waste materials. The research activities also include the development of molecular techniques for genome reconstruction and transcriptional biosensors for ultra-high-throughput screening of producing microorganisms using FACS.

website

Prof. Dra. María J. Hernáiz received her B.Sc. (1992) and Ph.D. (1996) in Pharmacy from the University Complutense of Madrid (UCM). Then, she received a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellowship from the EU to carry on her research in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick (England) (1997-1999) to work on the chemoenzymatic synthesis of glycostructures with therapeutic interest. In 1999, she moved to the Department of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Iowa (USA) as postdoctoral research associate (1999-2000) and worked on the molecular recognition of carbohydrates involved in different diseases. Later, she joined the Center for Chemical Research CIQ-CSIC (Spain) with a Marie Curie Return I3P contract from the EU where she continued working on the field of carbohydrate chemistry. In 2002, she was appointed associated Professor in the Department of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry at the UCM and since 2018
is full professor in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry. In addition, she is the director of the Biotransformations Group. She has published more than 100 scientific papers, reviews, and books chapters in these fields and more than 100 communications to National and International Congresses, including 35 oral communications. Member of the Executive Board of the Spanish Society of Biotechnology (SEBiot) and the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB).

website │ @MaraJosHernizG1 │ email

Peter-Leon Hagedoorn is an expert in the mechanistic investigation of metalloenzymes such as ferritin and chlorite dismutase, and he pioneered a new approach for metalloproteomics, called MIRAGE. He is a tenured assistant professor of Biocatalysis at the Department of Biotechnology, TU Delft. Pursuing his interest in kinetic characterization of enzymes on complex substrates he advanced the use of enzyme calorimetry with chip based devices. Of special interest are microsecond timescale rapid mixing techniques, unique in the world, employed in a continuous flow UV-vis spectrophotometric device called Nanospec, and a rapid freeze hyperquench device called MHQ. These techniques are circa 100 times faster than commercial instruments, and both techniques have been very powerful in the discovery of novel transient intermediates in the heme enzyme chlorite dismutase (ACS catalysis) and Cu2+ binding to ATCUN/NTS motif peptides (Angewandte Chemie). In recent years Hagedoorn ventured together with prof. Hanefeld into enzyme immobilization and flow biocatalys using Mn2+ dependent aldolases and hydroxynitrile lyases as well as thermophilic glycosyl transferases and hydratases (including FeS cluster containing enzymes). He has published over 110 peer reviewed papers, with a clear focus on the elucidation of reaction mechanisms of (metallo-)enzymes and metalloproteomics.

website  │ @HagedoornLeon  │ email