Roderich Süssmuth

Prof. Dr. Roderich Süssmuth is a Professor of Biological Chemistry at the Institute of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin, leading the Organic Chemistry Research Group (FG Organische Chemie). He coordinates Research Fields D4 (2012–2017) and E4 in UniCat, the Cluster of Excellence for Catalysis Research. His research focuses on combinatorial biosynthesis, synthetic biology, and natural product chemistry, with emphasis on antibiotics, biocatalysis, and structure elucidation.

Education & Affiliations: Süssmuth holds a professorship at TU Berlin and has held visiting roles, including at Ben Gurion University (Israel). His work spans interdisciplinary collaborations, such as with Ashraf Brik (2015 Bessel Award recipient) and Peter Leadlay (Humboldt Prize awardee).

Research Interests: His lab explores nonribosomal peptide synthetases, plantazolicin structure-function relationships, and iron-siderophore synthesis. Key projects include abyssomicin polyketide formation and enzymatic mechanisms in antibiotic production.

Grants & Awards: His group received the Schering Prize (2014) for Bartlomiej Krawczyk’s dissertation. Collaborations include EU-funded projects on nanomaterial-based biosensors and antibiotic development against multi-resistant bacteria.

Labs & Teams: His research integrates synthetic biology, enzymology, and biocatalysis, with a focus on developing novel antibiotics and understanding natural product diversity. His team actively publishes in high-impact journals like Nature Chemical Biology and Angewandte Chemie.