Vera Meyer | |
---|---|
Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
Alma mater | Technische Universität Berlin |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biotechnology |
Institutions |
Vera Meyer (born c. 1970 in Hoyerswerda) is a German biotechnologist and professor at Technische Universität Berlin. She is head of the department for Applied and Molecular Microbiology. Her main scientific field is the research of fungi and their potential use for a sustainable circular economy. Meyer also works as a visual artist, combining her scientific knowledge in microbiology with artistic creation. [1]
Vera Meyer studied Biotechnology at the Sofia University (Bulgaria) and at Technische Universität Berlin, where she graduated in 1996. In 2001 she earned a doctoral degree at the Institute of Biotechnology of the TU Berlin, followed 2008 by the habilitation in Microbiology and Genetics.
As a visiting scientist, her studies brought Meyer to the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London (2003) and to the department of Fungal Genetics and Metabolomics at Leiden University in the Netherlands (2005 - 2006). In 2008, Meyer was appointed assistant professor for Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology at Leiden University, a position she held for three years. Since 2011 she is professor at the Institute of Biotechnology and head of its department for Applied and Molecular Microbiology at TU Berlin. Her scientific work in the field of fungal biotechnology has been published in more than 120 publications (as of December 2022). [2] In 2021 Vera Meyer was awarded a prize for excellence in teaching for her digital lectures during the Covid pandemic. [3] [4]
Since 2008 Vera Meyer is creating works of art using the pseudonym V. meer. The emphasis was first on painting and graphics, from 2013 on the focus shifted toward sculptures. She invents objects from chance finds like forest mushrooms, decaying wood and scrap metal. Inspired by her scientific work with fungi in microbiology, she merges these materials in the sense of a found object. Through her art work she wants to enhance awareness for fungi and their potential in biotechnology and for a sustainable bioeconomy in general. Together with the architect Sven Pfeiffer she is the founder of the Berlin SciArt collective MY-CO-X, which was established in 2020 and took part in the TinyBe 2021 exhibition with the house sculpture MY-CO SPACE. [5] [6] In 2024 the sculpture is part of the show "Closer to Nature" [7] at Berlinische Galerie, Germany. The show's focus is a change of paradigm in modern architecture for more sustainability.
Meyer’s scientific focus is particularly on the research and optimization of fungal cell factories. The goal is a more effective use of the metabolic processes of fungi. Their potential can be utilised for producing pharmaceuticals, platform chemicals or proteins, as well as for the production of biomaterials needed for a sustainable bioeconomy. Meyer’s team of researchers at Technische Universität Berlin pursues a holistic approach, combining procedures out of synthetic biology and systems biology. Gene technology methods, such as CRISPR-Cas9 and the generation of huge omics data, are being used for predicting gene functions and gene regulatory networks. This way, Meyer’s group succeeded in optimizing Aspergillus niger as a cell factory for proteins and, for the first time, also for pharmaceuticals (European Patent EP 3 119 900 B1). The combination of synthetic biology and systems biology is uncharted territory for scientists. Bringing these two scientific approaches together shall enable the transition from a descriptive to a predictive biology in the long run.
Vera Meyer supports the idea of citizen science. Through inter- and transdisciplinary projects she gathers scientists, citizens, artists and designer to involve them in scientific research works of her university department. The outcomes of the most recent projects Mind the Fungi! [8] and Engage with Fungi [9] were both published as a book. Meyer regards these collaborations as incubators to envision future ideas for bio-based living environments. In 2019 she launched a Artist in Residence program at her department to maintain a continuous collaboration with people in the arts. [10]
Meyer favours a change in paradigm with regard to scientific publications and demands a culture of Open Access. In 2014 she founded the first open access journal for the field of fungal biology ( Fungal Biology and Biotechnology) and acts as a co-publisher there since.
Vera Meyer is spokeswoman of the European think tank EUROFUNG and member of the German National Academy of Engineering (Acatech). [11]
Vera Meyer | |
---|---|
Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
Alma mater | Technische Universität Berlin |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biotechnology |
Institutions |
Vera Meyer (born c. 1970 in Hoyerswerda) is a German biotechnologist and professor at Technische Universität Berlin. She is head of the department for Applied and Molecular Microbiology. Her main scientific field is the research of fungi and their potential use for a sustainable circular economy. Meyer also works as a visual artist, combining her scientific knowledge in microbiology with artistic creation. [1]
Vera Meyer studied Biotechnology at the Sofia University (Bulgaria) and at Technische Universität Berlin, where she graduated in 1996. In 2001 she earned a doctoral degree at the Institute of Biotechnology of the TU Berlin, followed 2008 by the habilitation in Microbiology and Genetics.
As a visiting scientist, her studies brought Meyer to the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London (2003) and to the department of Fungal Genetics and Metabolomics at Leiden University in the Netherlands (2005 - 2006). In 2008, Meyer was appointed assistant professor for Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology at Leiden University, a position she held for three years. Since 2011 she is professor at the Institute of Biotechnology and head of its department for Applied and Molecular Microbiology at TU Berlin. Her scientific work in the field of fungal biotechnology has been published in more than 120 publications (as of December 2022). [2] In 2021 Vera Meyer was awarded a prize for excellence in teaching for her digital lectures during the Covid pandemic. [3] [4]
Since 2008 Vera Meyer is creating works of art using the pseudonym V. meer. The emphasis was first on painting and graphics, from 2013 on the focus shifted toward sculptures. She invents objects from chance finds like forest mushrooms, decaying wood and scrap metal. Inspired by her scientific work with fungi in microbiology, she merges these materials in the sense of a found object. Through her art work she wants to enhance awareness for fungi and their potential in biotechnology and for a sustainable bioeconomy in general. Together with the architect Sven Pfeiffer she is the founder of the Berlin SciArt collective MY-CO-X, which was established in 2020 and took part in the TinyBe 2021 exhibition with the house sculpture MY-CO SPACE. [5] [6] In 2024 the sculpture is part of the show "Closer to Nature" [7] at Berlinische Galerie, Germany. The show's focus is a change of paradigm in modern architecture for more sustainability.
Meyer’s scientific focus is particularly on the research and optimization of fungal cell factories. The goal is a more effective use of the metabolic processes of fungi. Their potential can be utilised for producing pharmaceuticals, platform chemicals or proteins, as well as for the production of biomaterials needed for a sustainable bioeconomy. Meyer’s team of researchers at Technische Universität Berlin pursues a holistic approach, combining procedures out of synthetic biology and systems biology. Gene technology methods, such as CRISPR-Cas9 and the generation of huge omics data, are being used for predicting gene functions and gene regulatory networks. This way, Meyer’s group succeeded in optimizing Aspergillus niger as a cell factory for proteins and, for the first time, also for pharmaceuticals (European Patent EP 3 119 900 B1). The combination of synthetic biology and systems biology is uncharted territory for scientists. Bringing these two scientific approaches together shall enable the transition from a descriptive to a predictive biology in the long run.
Vera Meyer supports the idea of citizen science. Through inter- and transdisciplinary projects she gathers scientists, citizens, artists and designer to involve them in scientific research works of her university department. The outcomes of the most recent projects Mind the Fungi! [8] and Engage with Fungi [9] were both published as a book. Meyer regards these collaborations as incubators to envision future ideas for bio-based living environments. In 2019 she launched a Artist in Residence program at her department to maintain a continuous collaboration with people in the arts. [10]
Meyer favours a change in paradigm with regard to scientific publications and demands a culture of Open Access. In 2014 she founded the first open access journal for the field of fungal biology ( Fungal Biology and Biotechnology) and acts as a co-publisher there since.
Vera Meyer is spokeswoman of the European think tank EUROFUNG and member of the German National Academy of Engineering (Acatech). [11]