“Production of sustainable fuels and chemicals using synthetic biology applications"

Andreas Schirmer, PhD.
Director of Microbial & Cellular Engineering
LS9 Inc.

Dr. Schirmer received his diploma and Ph.D. in Microbiology from the Georg-August University of Göttingen working on the microbial biosynthesis and degradation of bioplastics. He then joined the Department of Microbiology & Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School as a post-doctoral fellow, where he conducted research on the regulation of microbial metabolism. Dr. Schirmer started his industrial career when he joined Kosan Biosciences, Inc., in 1999. Kosan developed innovative cancer therapeutics based on polyketide natural products. He was directly involved in genetic engineering of polyketide-producing microorganisms and applying metagenomics to identify novel polyketide gene clusters. In 2006, he was among the first Scientists joining LS9, Inc., which is now a leading industrial biotechnology company developing a portfolio of sustainable fuel and chemical products. Dr. Schirmer was part of a team that discovered several novel hydrocarbon biosynthesis pathways enabling recombinant biosynthesis of alkanes and alkenes. Since 2009, he is leading the microbial & cellular engineering department at LS9.