Ivana Drienovska

Ivana Drienovska is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Faculty of Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. She also holds an affiliation with AIMMS (likely a research institute or program).

Her research focuses on biocatalysis, protein engineering, and artificial enzyme design, with a particular emphasis on non-canonical amino acids, genetic code expansion, and functional group diversity in enzymes. She explores applications in sustainable chemistry, enzyme stabilization, and novel catalytic mechanisms.

Recent work includes designing protein scaffolds for iminium biocatalysis, stabilizing protein complexes via covalent bicyclization, and incorporating functional secondary amines via genetic code expansion. Her studies often involve structural biology approaches (e.g., crystallography) and synthetic biology techniques.

• Affiliations: Faculty of Science (VU Amsterdam), AIMMS
• Courses Taught: Biocatalysis for a Sustainable Future, Bioorganic Chemistry, Concepts in Chemical Biology

Key Research Themes:

• Engineering enzymes for novel functionalities (e.g., unnatural amino acids)
• Development of artificial metalloenzymes for asymmetric catalysis
• Structural and biochemical analysis of cold-adapted and extremophilic enzymes

Lab/Team: Her group works at the interface of chemical biology, enzymology, and synthetic biology, focusing on creating next-generation biocatalysts for industrial and environmental applications.