Institute of Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen

Our expertise lies in protein engineering by directed evolution and rational design. Directed evolution methodologies were awarded with the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2018 and the Schwaneberg group plays a leading role worldwide in the field of directed evolution. Our Research is organized in 5 divisions with the general goal to advance directed evolution methodologies to discover fundamental design principles of proteins, and to perform translational research within the areas of interactive materials (focus on plant health, medicine), biocatalysis, and circular bioeconomy. Developed protein engineering strategies such as KnowVolution are used to combine computational and experimental efforts and thereby to ensure efficient protein design with minimal experimental efforts and a molecular understanding of improved properties. Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schwaneberg is the Chair of the Institute of Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen and is a member of the scientific board of directors at the DWI-Leibniz-Institute for Interactive Materials.