Linda Dengler studies anaerobic microorganisms from and in unique environments. As a PhD at the University of Regensburg, she focused on the isolation and characterization of anaerobes from the Cahuita National Park in Costa Rica. Here, she isolated a variety of archaeal and bacterial strains, summing up to six novel species and one genus. She further isolated and characterized a biofilm-forming interdomain consortium comprised of a methanogenic Archaeon and a sulfate-reducing Bacterium. This unique community was surveyed in pure cultures and co-culture and therefore revealed a completely novel perspective on microbial interactions and biofilm formation.
During her PhD, she also co-founded the biotechnology startup Microbify GmbH. At Microbify, she now focuses on the microbial composition of subsurface environments of industrial relevance including gas and hydrogen storages like salt caverns, depleted gas reservoirs, and aquifers. This includes the development of high-pressure sampling systems, biofilm-formation monitoring, and microbiologically induced corrosion (MIC) management.
International visibility, activities, prizes, scholarships etc.
For her PhD-related field trips to Costa Rica, Linda Dengler was awarded with the iPUR research grant of the University of Regensburg in 2019. Due to her assertiveness and intercultural competence, she was the first person to deposit microbial strains from Costa Rica at the DSMZ culture collection following Costa Rican environmental protection laws.
As general manager at Microbify, she pitched at several startup and business plan competitions in the past two years. Microbify reached the 3rd place at PlanB – Biobasiert. Business. Bayern (2021), won at BayStartUP Businessplan Wettbewerb Nordbayern Phase I and reached the 3rd place in Phase III (2022). In 2023 the Hochsprung Award followed. With that, she raised a total of > 10.000 € price money.
At Microbify she works with international customers and in diverse, interdisciplinary work environments and holds one patent.
archaeaforbiotechnology.eu 