Cecilia Geijer

Cecilia Geijer is an Associate Professor at Chalmers University of Technology's Department of Industrial Biotechnology, where she has worked since 2013. Her research spans fundamental yeast biology and applied biotechnological applications, focusing on yeast biodiversity, enzyme discovery, and microbial cell factory development. She serves as a senior strategic advisor to Chalmers' Energy area of strength and participates in university governance through the employment committee.

• PhD in Microbiology (University of Gothenburg, 2012)
• Co-founder of a startup developing yeast strains for food ingredients
• Teaches courses in biochemistry, food microbiology, and industrial biotechnology

Research Focus: Cecilia's work centers on leveraging yeast biodiversity to identify novel genes and enzymes for carbon source assimilation, particularly through projects like MycoCellular (Formas, 2025-2029) and FEAST (VINNOVA, 2024-2025). Her group develops CRISPR-engineered yeast strains for xylan waste valorization (Novo Nordisk Fonden, 2023-2025) and investigates sugar sensor applications in distantly related yeasts (Novo Nordisk Fonden, 2025-2027).

Publication Trends: Recent studies focus on xylan degradation mechanisms, lactose/galactose metabolism gene clusters, and CRISPR-enabled yeast engineering. These align with her interests in lignocellulosic biofuels, enzymatic hydrolysis, and sustainable food ingredient production.

Funding Sources: Supported by Formas, Novo Nordisk Fonden, VINNOVA, and the Swedish Energy Agency through projects targeting biomass conversion, microbial robustness, and circular bioeconomy initiatives.