News / Dates

Last Thursday, we had the pleasure of celebrating two successful doctoral examinations. Both Marcel Schatton and Frederike Weber successfully completed their doctorates. We would like to congratulate them both!

Marcel defended his thesis entitled ‘Indole derivatives in the synthesis of natural product-inspired active ingredients’.

As part of his doctoral studies, he succeeded in the total synthesis of Lansai B, which also resulted in a publication. Marcel enriched everyday life in the laboratory not only professionally, but also personally.…

A new joint publication by Lisa Böhmer and Benjamin Chapple was released this week. We are delighted about this wonderful achievement and offer our heartfelt congratulations!

This paper presents the first decoupled, continuous, fluorescence-based high-throughput screening method for determining the activity of S-adenosyl-L-methionine-dependent methyltransferases. The assay is based on proton release during methylation and is suitable not only for purified enzymes, but also for cell-free extracts and, in certain cases, for pretreated whole-cell…

This week, our popular module ‘Natural Product Synthesis’ started a new round. We are very pleased to welcome Pia Josephine Franz, Patricia Janßen and Nyke Plate to our institute.

Over the coming weeks, the three students will be supporting our doctoral students Marc Tackmann and Viktoria Warth in their research projects, gaining valuable insights into the practical work involved in natural product synthesis.

We wish you an exciting, informative and successful time with us at the institute – we are delighted to have you here!

This week, our colleague Oleg Tokmachov successfully completed his apprenticeship with us. We would like to congratulate him on passing his exam!

Although his time with us was short, he left a lasting impression. We are therefore delighted that he will remain at the research centre and will be working at IBG-2 in future.

We wish him every success in his new role, exciting experiences as part of the team and all the best for the future.

As we start 2026, we can look forward not only to a fresh start to the year, but also to two new faces in our working group. This week, Hannes Bertelsmann, who is starting his dual studies with us, and Robin Lammerz, who is starting his training as a chemical laboratory assistant, joined our institute.

Both will actively support our doctoral students Catharina Gronkowsky and Stina Hench in the laboratory and be involved in ongoing research work. Hannes is currently working with Annika Höppner before moving on to Stina.

Dear Robin, dear…

Last week, we said goodbye to our trainee Philip Lencer. He had been part of our institute since November 2022. During his training as a chemical laboratory assistant, he worked closely with Sebastian Myllek and supported him in developing methods for the synthesis of axial-chiral carbazoles.

He integrated very quickly into the laboratory and soon became an integral part of the group. With his curiosity, his interest in the background and his willingness to think questions through, he was committed to his daily laboratory work. At the same…

On 3 December 2025, our colleague Hauke Friehs successfully defended his Master's thesis entitled ‘Investigation of the steroid alkaloid solanidine and its derivatives for improving solubility in aqueous systems’. We congratulate him warmly on this great achievement.

Hauke had already been with us at the institute as part of the ‘Natural Product Synthesis’ module and now returned to us for his Master's thesis. In recent months, he has devoted himself to the exciting field of steroidal alkaloids and investigated strategies to improve the…

We are delighted to announce the publication of a new paper by our colleague Ben in Angewandte Chemie – a huge success, for which we congratulate him warmly!

The paper, entitled ‘Characterisation of the N-Methyltransferase SgPsmC: Application in the Kinetic Resolution of Pyrroloindoline’, deals with a highly relevant topic in natural product and drug chemistry. Many pharmacological compounds and natural products are based on a pyrroloindoline backbone, which clearly underlines the importance of this heterocyclic motif in drug development.

The…

Our colleague Lena Müller attended the Pseudomonas Grassroots Meeting (PGM) on 27 and 28 October 2025, which took place at DTU in Copenhagen this year.

The PGM is a particularly informal conference where genuine Pseudomonas enthusiasts can exchange ideas and network. Lena's ‘pet’, Pseudomonas putida, attracted a great deal of interest and led to intensive conversations, exciting discussions and a lively scientific exchange.

In addition to valuable professional feedback, Lena gained numerous new ideas and inspiration for current issues and…

We are delighted to congratulate our colleague Marc Tackmann on the successful defence of his Master's thesis. In his thesis entitled ‘Reaction and Reactor Optimisation of Light-Induced Cross-Couplings in Continuous Flow’, he placed a special focus on photochemical reactions in flow systems – a challenging and highly topical field of research.

The core of his work was the development of his own photoreactors, which Marc designed, optimised and further developed step by step. With each new version, he moved closer to an increasingly efficient…