For many researchers in biotechnology, the move to industry raises practical questions. What changes day to day? Which skills matter most? And what helps make the transition smoother in practice? In an interview with GSO, Moritz Bross shares his experience of moving from academic research into Industrial Biotechnology at BASF. He reflects on which skills proved essential beyond the university setting, how networking supported his transition, and why structured work environments became an important factor for him. He also discusses how his industry experience reshaped his view on academic career paths and long-term impact. 

Read the full interview here.

​​Tomás Páscoa is a postdoctoral researcher in structural biology at the University of Marburg. He has led the charge in establishing the method of cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) in Marburg to understand proteins and cellular structures in their native environment. By freezing and thinning cells, imaging them with electrons, and generating three-dimensional reconstructions of the cellular interior, researchers can gain unprecedented insights into how microorganisms and their metabolisms respond and adapt to environmental change.  

​These insights, he explains, will contribute to various interdisciplinary projects at the Center for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) and may ultimately unlock synthetic biological solutions to large-scale challenges such as climate change, which the Cluster of Excellence Microbes for Climate tackles with interdisciplinary expertise.  

​Learn more about Tomás Páscoa and his work here. 

​​Dr Rebecka Molitor, a biologist at Forschungszentrum Jülich and Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, has won the 2025 KlarText Prize for Science Communication, awarded by the Klaus Tschira Foundation, for her german article “In der Tiefsee liegt die Lösung.” The award honours young scientists who make complex research accessible to the public. Rebecka Molitor vividly explains how bacterial enzymes called polyesterases could help tackle global plastic pollution. She draws on her research trips to the North Atlantic, where she studied microorganisms on plastic waste in the deep sea. 

Find out more here.​ 

​​The microbiome performs a variety of health-maintaining functions in the body. The microbes can produce nutrients, dampen inflammation or displace pathogens. In order to fulfill all these tasks, the microbiome must be in balance. For the microbiome, this means first and foremost that it is as diverse as possible. This makes it harder for harmful microorganisms to find a niche to live in. If microbiome diversity decreases or harmful germs dominate, there is a risk of inflammation, infections or chronic diseases - and this is precisely where the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) comes in. Using “microbiome engineering”, Dr. Lisa Osbelt-Block and Prof. Till Strowig are specifically editing the gut microbiome to prevent disease. With precise interventions, the microbiome engineers displace pathogens from the microbiome and prevent infections before they occur. 

Find out more about this innovative approach here.​ 

​​Central goals of the circular economy include closing material cycles, reducing waste, and permanently keeping raw materials in the economic system. Achieving this requires innovative technologies that open up new avenues for recycling. Gas fermentation is a promising technology; however, some aspects are still in the research phase. The biotechnological process uses exhaust gases such as carbon dioxide as feedstocks to produce valuable products and enable a new approach to industrial emissions. With his research, Ralf Takors, professor at the University of Stuttgart, wants to help gas fermentation reach market maturity. He explains what is important in this regard in a video interview.  

​​It’s tiny, only a few millimeters wide: Researchers at the University of Siegen are developing a state-of-the-art 3D intestinal model on a microchip. The model should help scientists to understand why people with a certain blood clotting disorder suffer from difficult-to-treat intestinal bleeding. Want to find out more?

Ultimately, this model could be used to test new compounds that might stop intestinal bleeding or repair damaged blood vessels. Researchers are using the technology to safely test both existing and newly developed drugs in the lab, while also eliminating the need for animal testing.​ 

Vaccines, therapeutic proteins, and monoclonal antibodies are increasingly produced using cell culture technologies. These biological production systems enable the manufacturing of highly effective and safe biopharmaceuticals. The market for such innovative therapeutics has become a major growth driver in the pharmaceutical industry. However, production conditions in bioreactors are highly complex and subject to strict regulatory quality requirements.

The biotechnology research conducted by Professor Björn Frahm and his team provides valuable support in addressing a key challenge in the manufacturing process: How can the seed train be designed to reliably generate the trillions of cells required for industrial-scale bioreactor production while ensuring quality, stability, and efficiency? 

Find out more here.  

​​Our current standard of living consumes energy and resources and burdens the climate through enormous CO2 emissions. A way out could be the recovery of carbon dioxide from waste streams. This would enable a cycle of its use. Options for such use are outlined by an international team of biotechnologists led by Prof. Dr. Dirk Tischler from Ruhr University Bochum in an article published in 2025 in the journal Nature Communications.

​Find out more here.​ 

​​Biotechnology is playing an increasingly important role in the global energy transition. At OTH Regensburg, the ORBIT II project shows how microorganisms can convert CO₂ and green hydrogen into renewable methane — a promising solution for sectors that cannot easily switch to electricity. The technology is currently being tested at a wastewater treatment plant, demonstrating its potential for realworld use in many countries. With its strong expertise in PowertoGas and energy systems, OTH Regensburg offers an excellent environment for international researchers interested in sustainable energy technologies. 

Find out more here.​ 

​The research project “MoDe_ProBio” revolutionizes biochemical processes for a sustainable future. Using digital twins and artificial intelligence, innovative methods are developed to utilize biogenic raw materials and waste more efficiently. The aim is to significantly reduce development times and resource consumption while evaluating the sustainability of new processes early. A key example is using engineered E. coli to produce PETase enzymes that break down plastics. Coordinated by Prof. Dr. Volker C. Hass at Furtwangen University, a strong network of universities and industry partners is working together to advance the bioeconomy. The results could serve as a model for the circular economy and trigger sustainable changes in industry and education. This will set new standards for the environmentally friendly production of enzymes, biohydrogen, and specialty chemicals and demonstrates how digital tools can transform biotechnological process design for a greener future. 

Find out more here.

​The International Office’s Welcome Center supports international researchers who come to HSBI. Thanks to the assistance provided by Maximilian Köster, Daniela Milanez Silva from São Paulo made it through the organisational jungle of offices, banks and telephone companies – and was thus able to quickly devote herself to her actual topic: the technical investigation of fungi used as natural pesticides. Daniela deliberately chose Bielefeld because Prof. Dr. Anant Patel, Vice President for Research and Development at HSBI, has been conducting research and publishing in the field of natural pest control for many years. “At HSBI, I have just the right equipment for drying the fungi, which I lack at the university in Brazil,” Daniela Milanez Silva explains. 

Find out more about her stay at HSBI and the Welcome Center here.