“I congratulate Laura Marie Helleckes and Bianca Schacherl on their grants. Their projects show how new research questions arise at the intersection of different disciplines,” said Professor Stefan Hinz, Vice Provost Early Career Researchers at KIT. “We’re very pleased that the two scientists will be able to pursue their ideas and projects in independent research groups at KIT.”

Earlier Identification of Scaling Issues in Biotechnology

Industrial biotechnology uses microorganisms and enzymes to produce important products such as pharmaceuticals, materials, and chemicals while using fewer resources. Many processes work well at the small scale of a laboratory but are difficult to transfer to large-scale industrial plants. One of the main reasons is that the behavior of biological systems in production environments only becomes apparent in larger-scale tests. As a result, problems often arise late in the development phase when the required changes are expensive and time-consuming.

With her SELF-SCALE project, Dr. Laura Marie Helleckes aims to identify scaling problems in the development of biotechnological production processes at an earlier stage by linking experiments at different scales. Automated lab platforms provide continuous streams of data that are analyzed by AI models, which then suggest the next experiments that can yield important information. “Our research connects biotechnology with artificial intelligence and lab automation,” Helleckes said. “That enables us to identify adverse developments sooner and save development resources to get biotechnological processes into industrial use faster.” In February 2027, Helleckes will move to KIT’s Institute of Functional Interfaces.

New Methods for Better Cancer Treatments

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in Germany, making it one of the greatest healthcare challenges. In nuclear medicine, radioactive isotopes from the lanthanide and actinide groups are used in cancer diagnosis and treatment. To better understand what happens to these substances in cells and tissues, researchers want to find out where they accumulate, in which chemical form they are present, and what changes they cause.

In her Bio-ALMS project, Dr. Bianca Schacherl from KIT’s Institute for Nuclear Waste Disposal is working on a new approach for more detailed analyses of the interactions of radioactive elements in biological samples. Working with an interdisciplinary research team, she uses modern X-ray techniques that simultaneously collect and link spatial, chemical, and biological information for the first time. “With Bio-ALMS, we’re developing multiple spectromicroscopic platforms that we can use to examine cells down to the nanometer level,” Schacherl said. “These innovative methods promise applications beyond nuclear medicine and toxicology, from personalized cancer treatment to environmental and materials research.”

The Carl Zeiss Foundation’s CZS Nexus Funding Program

The Carl Zeiss Foundation funds research and teaching in the STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The CZS Nexus funding program supports outstanding young scientists who wish to implement exciting ideas at the interfaces between the different STEM fields. The funding supports their academic career development by giving them the opportunity to establish their own interdisciplinary research groups. Each junior research group receives funding of up to EUR 1.5 million over a period of five or six years. (ihe)