Professor Inaugural Lecture

In his inaugural lecture, From Hyphae to Horizons: Engineering Fungal Biosolutions for a Sustainable Future, Professor Frandsen will explore how to harness the untapped potential of fungi and their chemistry to build a sustainable future.

The lecture is open to all interested and will be followed by a reception.

Registration is not necessary.

Full Abstract

Fungi play a central role in nature by shaping their environment through the biosynthesis of small molecules and enzymes. Although humans have long exploited these capabilities for biotechnology, much of the potential remains unexplored. Advances in genomics, robotics, and machine learning are now poised to unlock this potential for sustainable biosolutions.

In this inaugural lecture, From Hyphae to Horizons, Professor Rasmus J. N. Frandsen will explore how fungi and their chemistry can be harnessed to address the major global crises within agriculture, food supply, medicine, and manufacturing. Drawing on his research in fungal biology, genomics, and biosynthetic pathways, the lecture will show how fundamental insights into fungal chemistry and evolution has enabled the development of programmable enzyme systems and the design of novel artificial biosynthetic pathways, for example the food ingredient carminic acid. The lecture next explores the recent advances and future potential of high throughput robotics-assisted systems that will fast track the identification and maturation of new biological solutions. Solutions that are much needed to shape a future with sustainable agricultural production. Exemplified with projects on the development of biocontrol organisms to replace chemical pesticides (SABS), biofertilizers to replace synthetic fertilizers (IBIS), and future cell factory host/production systems. The lecture is rounded off with future perspectives focusing on how robotics, large datasets, and machine learning (AI) hold the potential to deepen our understanding of the hidden networks beneath our feet and expand the horizons of biotechnology towards a more sustainable future.

We look forward to welcoming colleagues, collaborators, and friends to DTU Bioengineering for an inspiring and joyous afternoon.