Biotechnology: Research into industrial production processes
Anna-Lena Heins is a new professor at the TU Hamburg
21.12.2023
Anna-Lena Heins is specialised in bioprocesses and biosystems technology. As part of her research, she wants to find out why individual microorganisms in a cell population behave differently, even though they are actually genetically identical and should therefore react in the same way to their environment. The keyword for these processes is population heterogeneity. A phenomenon that is particularly evident in industrial production processes involving microorganisms, such as the production of antibiotics. "This can lead to a loss of yield in the product, but also to an increase in the robustness of the cells and therefore improved process stability," says Prof Heins, describing her observations. Although these and other consequences are known, the cause and the mechanism of development are still poorly understood.
Behaviour of cell populations in the bioprocess
"At the TU Hamburg, I would like to develop robust, sustainable and self-sustaining bioprocesses based on this research topic. I also want to understand population heterogeneity on a laboratory scale in order to subsequently apply the knowledge for knowledge-based upscaling of the process to pilot or industrial scale," says the biotechnologist, who is fascinated by her field of research because it is complex and interdisciplinary. "The long-term goal is to advance the resource-saving production of a wide range of bio-based products, from fine chemicals to food and medicines," says the scientist, explaining her approach.
Research group on bioprocesses
Prof Heins heads the Institute of Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering in the Department of Process Engineering. She hopes to be able to tie in well with the SMART Reactors Collaborative Research Centre and "grow into it". Anna-Lena Heins had to cross Germany from south to north for her work at the TU Hamburg, as she had previously lived in Munich, where she had spent the past six years setting up her own research group on population heterogeneity in bioprocesses at the Chair of Bioprocess Engineering at the Technical University.
After studying biotechnology at the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Heins completed her doctorate at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in 2015 before working for two years at Octapharma, where she developed a system for statistical process control based on process data. However, as a true scientist who has been interested in why things work and how they are connected since she was a child, at some point she missed the research and, compared to southern Germany, the wind that constantly blows in Hamburg. Anna-Lena Heins prefers to spend her free time with family and friends. However, one of her first activities as a passionate jogger in Hamburg was to take part in the run across the Köhlbrand Bridge.
Further information: https://www.tuhh.de/ibb/home
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Elke Schulze
E-Mail: elke.schulze@tuhh.de
