Maren Nattermann

Dr. Maren Nattermann is a Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany. She leads the 'Synthetic Cofactors and Orthogonal Metabolism' research group, focusing on advancing sustainable biotechnological processes through synthetic biology approaches. Her work emphasizes energy-efficient CO2 utilization and metabolic pathway design to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Education: MSc in Biochemistry (University of Heidelberg, 2019); PhD in Biology (Philipps Universität Marburg, 2023, conducted at MPI Marburg); Postdoctoral Researcher (MPI Marburg, 2023–2024). Became Research Group Leader in January 2025.

Research Interests:

• Design of synthetic metabolic pathways
• Biocatalyst development
• Cofactor engineering for orthogonal metabolism
• Integration of CO2 fixation into bioproduction

Awards:

• VAAM Doctoral Prize (2024) for pioneering work on formate-to-formaldehyde conversion
• MarBiNa Award 2023 for contributions to sustainable CO2 utilization

Labs/Teams: Active leader of the 'Synthetic Cofactors and Orthogonal Metabolism' group, collaborating with interdisciplinary teams to advance bio-based chemical production.