Category: News

Both Mon and I returned to SDU after our journeys abroad.

I returned after a 6 months research stay at UMASS Amherst and Mon returned after a 2 months research stay at Radboud University in Nijmegen where she worked with Cornelia Welte.

Mon participated in an EMBO anaerobic microbiology course in Groningen. She presented her work there both as a poster and an oral presentation. Mon mentioned that the course taught her lots of tricks about the cultivation of anaerobes, and she truly enjoyed her experience.

At the beginning of August, I gave talks on direct interspecies electron transfer at the University of California Dana and Dornsife and at Stanford University. With this occasion, I visited collaborators (Moh El Naggar and Alfred Spormann), their labs and their groups. We hope that in the future we will build a stronger connection between our labs.

It is only a couple of days since Mon has relocated to Netherlands (Radboud University) for her PhD environment exchange. In Netherlands, she is developing genetics in methanogens together with Assist. Prof. Cornelia Welte in the lab of  Prof. Mike Jetten. Genetics in methanogens is a critical tool to broaden our understanding of electron transfer in methanogens growing on electrodes or by direct interspecies electron transfer.

At the end of her stay Mon will also join the EMBO practical course “Breathless microbes” which will take place in Wageningen, NL.

We hope Mon will get very interesting results and learn a lot during her stay in the Netherlands.

We are excited about this new collaboration with Cornelia and Mike. And we’re grateful for their support and that of the Soehngen Institute of Anaerobic Microbiology for the SIAM talent grant awarded to Mon for this journey.

Soehngen Institute of Anaerobic Microbiology (SIAM)

Innovationsfund

Jakob and Viktor have joined our SDU lab to work on different aspects of electrosynthesis to produce valuable chemicals from renewable biogas and renewable electricity.

Jakob will do his bachelor thesis with Amelia’s supervision. His thesis deals with green bioplastic production and is incorporated within the framework of the project “Microbial Chemical Plants“.

Viktor will do a 10ECTS independent lab study with Mon’s and Amelia’s supervision. His project deals with biogas upgrading to natural gas by digester consortia doing electromethanogenesis. This research study is incorporated in the framework of the project “Electrogas” on which Mon is a PhD student.

Both Jakob and Viktor have previous experience with science as they’ve been part of the IGEM international inter-college science competition. They were trying to produce the bacto-aid – a bandaid which is sustainable. In our lab they’re going to continue work on sustainable products generated from renewables.

Jakob and Viktor you’re welcome to the lab. Lots of success with your science.