Category: News

Our lab has been awarded a 50 million DKK grant by the Novo Nordisk Foundation for the Microbial Electrochemical Methanation Initiative, led by Amelia. This ambitious project aims to develop cutting-edge biotechnologies to convert waste into methane under controlled conditions, integrating experimental evolution, bioelectrochemistry, omics, and engineering to deliver scalable solutions.

The initiative brings together a strong interdisciplinary network of experts from SDU (Biology, NanoSyd), DTU BRIGHT, Aarhus University (Viborg, CORC, and BI), the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, and Wageningen University. Our collaborative approach is highly interdisciplinary and integrative to fast-track advancements in waste conversion.

We are currently hiring:

• Two postdoc positions in experimental evolution

• Two PhD positions in electromicrobiology

More opportunities will open in the coming years, both at SDU and our partner institutions. Stay tuned for updates!

Amelia has been awarded a 13 million DKK Semper Ardens Accomplish grant by the Carlsberg Foundation. The grant will support research into the role of extracellular nucleic acids, particularly extracellular RNA, in intra- and interspecies communication.

This project follows up on the work from our lab led by Dr. Rhitu Kotoky , which demonstrated that extracellular RNA drives electromethanogenesis in a methanogenic archaeon: Extracellular RNA drives Electromethanogenesis in a Methanogenic Archaeon

The funding will enable the recruitment of three new researchers—two postdocs and one PhD student—in 2026 and 2027. Please watch for job announcements from our lab.

A Warm Welcome to Our Newest Team Members!

Happy to introduce four students who have joined our lab this season, each bringing fresh energy and exciting research projects to our team.

Master’s students in Biology

A big welcome to Camilla Maja Lehmann Hansen and Mia Nielsen! Both will be diving into groundbreaking work, focusing on isolating representative species from a genus that has never before been cultured in axenic conditions.

Master’s student in BMB

We’re also happy to welcome Joachim Godsk, who will collaborate with Green Cow Biosolutions (GBS, Odense) on his company project. Joachim’s work will explore innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cows, a project with real-world impact on sustainable agriculture.

Bachelor’s thesis student in Biology

Last but certainly not least, we’re happy to have Julie Elizabeth Jahn joining us for her BSc thesis research. She will investigate the impact of conductive particles on microbiomes from Mediterranean coastal sediments, contributing to our understanding of environmental processes in coastal ecosystems.

We are very happy to welcome Anusha Ray to the team!

Anusha holds a PhD from the University of Hyderabad, where she worked on culturomics and phylotaxogenomics of microorganisms from extreme environments such as saltpans and acid mines. She then continued as a postdoctoral researcher at RISE (Research Institute for Sustainable Energy), TCG-CREST, where she focused on applying metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to improve the valorization of biomass from agricultural waste.

Anusha has now received a competitive Marie Curie COFUND GAIA Fellowship from the SDU Climate Cluster to join us from September 2025. In our lab, she will explore the use of metal–organic frameworks to sequester and concentrate microorganisms beneficial for anaerobic digestion. She will carry out her work within our team at SDU, in close collaboration with the Mads Clausen Institute (SDU NanoSYD) and Shell Biogas.

We’re looking forward to the exciting discoveries Anusha will bring to advancing anaerobic digestion and bioenergy research!

Excited to welcome Chiara Di Mattia to the team! 🎉 Chiara holds a BSc in Biology and Bioinformatics (with a minor in Astronomy) from the University Côte d’Azur, France, and is now in the Biology Master’s program at SDU.

Starting in February, Chiara will take on an independent study in our lab, while also contributing as a student helper to support the team. Co-supervised by Konstantinos Anestis (a postdoc in my team) and myself, she’ll explore anaerobic microbiology, molecular biology, and bioinformatics focusing on uncovering mineral-specific signatures in methanogenic consortia reliant on geoconductors.

Can’t wait to see what she discovers! 🚀🔬