Thore Rohwerder

Dr. Thore Rohwerder is a Geomicrobiologist at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ in Leipzig, Germany, where he works in the Department of Microbial Biotechnology within the Working Group Ecothermodynamics / Biocalorimetry. He has been a scientist at UFZ since 2009, following previous positions at the University of Duisburg-Essen Biofilm Centre (2006-2008) and earlier at UFZ (2003-2005).

Rohwerder earned his PhD from the University of Hamburg in 2002 with research on "Enzymatic oxidation of elemental sulfur by acidophilic leaching bacteriae," and completed his Diploma in Biology at the same institution in 1995. His research program spans microbial transformation processes with significant focus on biotechnological applications.

His primary research interests include the microbial transformation processes of industrial organic chemicals and heavy metal-bearing compounds, with emphasis on elucidating underlying biochemistry and reaction mechanisms. His work focuses on biotechnological applications addressing global depletion of fossil resources and minerals, sustainable synthesis of chemical products, and understanding the fate of industrial chemicals in the environment.

Rohwerder's recent publications reveal strong trends in environmental biotechnology, particularly in the biosynthesis and biodegradation of specialty chemicals like 2-hydroxyisobutyric acid (2-HIBA), degradation of fuel oxygenates, and microbial sulfur oxidation processes. His work combines structural biology, enzyme characterization, and metabolic engineering approaches to develop sustainable biotechnological solutions.

His research group specializes in the Working Group Ecothermodynamics / Biocalorimetry, focusing on the thermodynamic aspects of microbial processes. Current projects include the biosynthesis of 2-HIBA, biodegradation of fuel oxygenates like MTBE, ETBE, TAME and TAEE, sulfur oxidation in acidophilic prokaryotes, and metal sulfide leaching processes.