Rolf Daniel

Prof. Dr. Rolf Daniel is Full Professor of Genomic and Applied Microbiology at the University of Göttingen, heading both the Department of Genomic and Applied Microbiology and the Göttingen Genomics Laboratory since 2012. He serves as Speaker of the North German Center of Microbial Genomics (NZMG) and previously directed the Institute of Microbiology and Genetics (2012-2016).

His research pioneers cultivation-independent metagenomics and metatranscriptomics of environmental microbial communities from soil, sediments, ice, and biofilms. The lab employs dual function-based/sequence-based approaches to discover novel enzymes (proteases, cellulases, lipases) and genes, while conducting whole-genome sequencing of archaea/bacteria with industrial or pathogenic relevance. They also develop specialized bioinformatic tools for genomic data analysis and visualization.

Recent publications reveal strong interdisciplinary trends: environmental microbiome responses to land-use changes (2018), viral genome evolution studies, and novel enzyme characterization from metagenomic libraries, spanning environmental science, medical microbiology, and industrial biotechnology.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Norddeutscher Wissenschaftspreis (Northern German Science Award, 2013)

No explicit details on student advising or grant funding were documented in source materials.

Prof. Daniel directs the Göttingen Genomics Laboratory and the North German Center of Microbial Genomics (NZMG), driving collaborative research in microbial genomics across regional institutions through the GGNB graduate programs in Microbiology, Molecular Biology, and Genome Science.