I am Alex Windels, a PhD researcher at UGent's Centre for Synthetic Biology – ENCA (https://biocatalysis.mystrikingly.com/). My research focuses on chitinases, which serve as nature's biocatalysts for degrading the renewable resource chitin. The oligosaccharides derived from this biopolymer find applications in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and agriculture. In my doctoral work, I concentrate on enhancing chitinase activity through directed evolution and semi-rational enzyme engineering methods. Additionally, I investigate the modularity of these enzymes and I developed a pipeline (CANDy) to facilitate phylogenetic analysis, discovery, and domain swapping engineering of carbohydrate-active enzymes.As I approach the final year of my PhD, I am actively exploring opportunities in the industrial biotechnology sector, seeking challenges in a bold, dynamic and innovative environment.