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Biography
Diploma degree in Biology, Göttingen, Germany, 1992
PhD, Göttingen, 1995
Research Fellow, School of University of Nottingham, 1996
Senior Research Fellow, University of Nottingham, 2000
Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Lancaster, 2006
Associate Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, 2008
Expertise Summary
Bacterial metabolism and physiology, Clostridia, CO-utilising bacteria, quorum-sensing, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology
Research Summary
Klaus Winzer is a microbiologist with more than 25 years' experience in bacterial physiology and metabolism. He is experienced in bacterial strain isolation, characterisation and engineering, and has… read more
Current Research
Klaus Winzer is a microbiologist with more than 25 years' experience in bacterial physiology and metabolism. He is experienced in bacterial strain isolation, characterisation and engineering, and has worked extensively in the field of bacterial cell-cell communication. Over his career, Klaus has studied a wide range of physiologically diverse bacteria including numerous pathogens and industrial strains, with an increasing focus on C1-utilising bacteria. Current efforts focus on understanding and engineering the metabolism of gas-fermenting bacteria for the production of biofuels and chemical commodities. He is also interested in the physiology of incomplete oxidisers, including acetic acid bacteria.
Specifically, his group is investigating the molecular, genetic, and evolutionary mechanisms underlying bacterial strain degeneration with the goal of developing more stable and better performing production strains. In collaboration with computational scientists and mathematical modellers the team is working towards integrating complex metabolic pathways into new hosts, using a combination of synthetic biology approaches and in vitro evolution. Examples include the engineering of carbon monoxide-tolerant and utilising strains for improved fermentation of industrial waste gases.