Professor Bettina Siebers, who holds the chair for “Molecular Enzyme Technology and Biochemistry” within the Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology at the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Duisburg-Essen, has devoted her research efforts to the exploration of (hyper) thermophilic archaea’s metabolic complexity and regulation for many years. By integrating traditional biochemistry and molecular biology techniques with cutting-edge high-throughput technologies and modeling, her research group strives to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. A significant focus of her work was on general stress responses, such as those elicited by high osmolarity or organic solvents, which directed her research towards biofilm formation, including its composition, life cycle, and the enzymes and mechanisms involved. In addition, the application of archaeal enzymes or enzyme cascades and the development of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius (grown 80 °C, pH 2-3) as a novel archaeal platform organism for biotechnology are central themes in Professor Siebers’ research.
International visibility, activities, prizes, scholarships etc.
Since 2007, she has also served as the coordinator of various national and international collaborative projects, including SulfoSYS, SulfoSYSBIOTEC, HotSysAPP, HotSolute, HotAcidFACTORY, Lipid║Divide, and HotPETresolve which have been funded by the EU, BMBF, DFG, and the Volkswagen Foundation. Additionally, since 2018, she has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for BRENDA, an ELIXIR Core Data Resource which is now hosted at the DMSZ (Braunschweig), where she serves as a member of the Expert Committee for Digital Diversity initiatives. Professor Siebers has been a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Center for Biotechnology (CeBiTec) at Bielefeld University since 2016, and has served as the Gender Equality Officer for the Faculty of Chemistry since 2008.
archaeaforbiotechnology.eu 