***NEWS***

Report in BIOspektrum 03/ 25 on the Special Group Symposium at the VAAM Annual Conference 2025 

The growing demand for economical, eco-efficient and resource-saving processes in the chemical, pharmaceutical, energy and food industries requires increased efforts to convert research results into products. There is no way around biocatalytic processes, which form the basis of industrial biotechnology. This highly interdisciplinary field of research is currently experiencing rapid growth, with modern methods such as metagenome analysis and protein engineering also providing major impetus. Not least in order to strengthen Germany's good position in research and application, the two major professional associations DECHEMA and VAAM (Association for General and Applied Microbiology) therefore decided to join forces in a joint specialist group. The members of the group, who are active in academic and industrial research, represent various specialist areas from microbiology and molecular biology to chemistry and bioprocess engineering. This broad range promotes a fruitful interdisciplinary discussion of current trends and topics. This results in thematic blocks and lecture strands for DECHEMA and VAAM conferences as well as independent events on special scientific topics, for example as part of the DECHEMA colloquium series.

The aim is to encourage young researchers in particular through special symposia. Young researchers in particular are to be supported through special symposia, for example as part of international summer schools for doctoral students and postdocs.A further aim of the specialist group's work is to write position papers in which the perspectives of forward-looking research areas are presented and options for action for research and economic policy are identified.

Section Board

Dr. Michael Breuer
BASF SE Ludwigshafen

Prof. Dr. Andreas Liese
Technische Universität Hamburg

Prof. Dr. Stephan Lütz (Vorsitzender)
Technische Universität Dortmund

Dr. Andreas Pelzer
BRAIN AG, Zwingenberg

PD Kersten Rabe
Karlsruher Institut für Technologie - KIT

Prof. Dr. Katrin Rosenthal
Universität Bielefeld

Prof. Dr. Sandy Schmidt
Universität Groningen

Dr. Martin Schürmann
InnoSyn B.V., Geleen, NL

Dr. Dirk Tischler
Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Dr. Andreas Vogel
c-LEcta GmbH, Leipzig

Link zur DECHEMA