Renate Kunert

Renate Kunert is a full Professor at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, leading the Institute of Animal Cell Technology and Systems Biology. Her research focuses on

• Bioprocess optimization for recombinant protein production
• Antibody engineering (IgG, IgM, IgA)
• CHO and Pichia pastoris cell factory design
• Complement system interactions with immunoglobulins
• Glyco-engineering for therapeutic proteins

She has developed stable cell lines for complex proteins like trimeric SARS-CoV2 spike and human IgMs against cancer.

Key research trends from her publications include

• Statistical process optimization (DoE)
• Host cell line comparisons (CHO vs yeast)
• Computational antibody humanization
• Advanced bioreactor cultivation strategies
• Transcriptomic analysis for production bottlenecks

Her work bridges molecular design and scalable bioprocesses.

She supervises multiple PhD students and collaborates with teams in Europe and the USA. The institute maintains extensive cell banks for mammalian and yeast systems, supporting applications in HIV, oncology, and industrial biotechnology.