Trygve Brautaset

Trygve Brautaset is Professor in Synthetic Biology at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science, NTNU. As Director of the Centre for Digital Life Norway, he leads research in microbial engineering for sustainable chemical production. His work focuses on thermophilic bacteria and methylotrophic pathways.

Research pillars include:

• Methanol-based biomanufacturing platforms
• Enzyme engineering for C1 metabolism
• Thermophilic production strains
• Value-added chemical biosynthesis

Recent publications demonstrate innovations in metabolic pathway engineering for compounds like riboflavin and L-malate, using diverse feedstocks including brown seaweed. Work advances fundamental understanding of bacterial formaldehyde metabolism while developing practical biorefinery concepts.

He maintains active roles in biotechnology policy through the Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board and contributes to public discourse on genetic technologies. His research group develops novel expression systems and genetic tools for industrial biotechnology applications.