Katja M. Taute

Katja M. Taute is a Professor of Systems Biophysics of Microbial Dynamics at the Peter Debye Institute for Soft Matter Physics, Leipzig University (since 2024). Previously, she served as Professor of Quantitative Microbial Population Biology at the same institute (2023-2024) and Deputy Professor of Microbiology at LMU Munich (2021-2023). Her career includes a Rowland Fellowship (2016-2021), postdoctoral work at AMOLF (2012-2015), and visiting graduate work at the Florin Lab, University of Texas at Austin (2006-2011).

• Dr. rer. nat. in Physics (summa cum laude), University of Leipzig (2012)
• M.Sc. in Physics (with distinction), University of Leipzig (2007)
• Postgrad. Dipl. in Physics (with distinction), University of Christchurch (2005)

Her research focuses on microbial motility, chemotaxis, and biophysics, particularly how bacteria adapt to complex environments. She has pioneered 3D tracking techniques to study Vibrio species and flagellar dynamics.

Her recent publications highlight work on environmental adaptation, flagellar mechanics, and microbial navigation in Vibrio alginolyticus and Vibrio cholerae. These studies employ multiscale modeling, hydrodynamic analysis, and high-throughput imaging.

• Rowland Fellowship (2016-2021)
• Founders’ Award for Outstanding Postdoctoral Talk at BLAST XIII (2015)
• Daimler Benz Foundation Doctoral Fellowship (2007-2009)
• Bruce and Betty Alberts Endowed Scholarship (2008)
• German National Academic Foundation Scholarship (2004-2006)
• DAAD scholarship (2004)