NEnzy – Young Research Group in Enzyme Catalysis

The interdisciplinary junior research group for enzyme catalysis comprises seven people collaboratively working to develop innovative solutions for current challenges in establishing a circular economy within the plastics industry.

The group consists of team members located in Leverkusen (Covestro) and Aachen (Institute of Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University). A unique feature of this special partnership is the intensive knowledge and method transfer within the junior research group, further facilitated by team members spending time at the respective other location. This enables the effective combination of industry and university expertise to craft innovative solutions for sustainable plastics production. Additionally, the junior research group can benefit from the extensive knowledge within Covestro, accelerating the implementation of industrial processes based on the group's research findings. Dr. Lukas Reisky leads the junior research group, with additional support provided by three mentors: Prof. Ulrich Schwaneberg (RWTH Aachen), Prof. Donald Hilvert (ETH Zurich), and Dr. Gernot Jäger (Covestro).

The NEnzy group combines knowledge from diverse disciplines and the shared passion and commitment to collectively develop new processes for a more sustainable future, aiming to make a positive impact on society and the environment.

Lukas Reisky studied biology at the RWTH Aachen University and did his Ph.D. at the University of Greifswald with a focus on enzymatic polymer degradation. In recognition of his achievements, he received, among others, the Excellence prize of the VAA Foundation and the GDCh Award for Bioconversion of Renewable Raw Materials. Since 2019 he is working at Covestro in Leverkusen, starting as expert for enzyme technology. Since 2022 he leads the junior research group NEnzy.

Sherly Rusli pursued a dual master's program in chemical and bioengineering at TU Hamburg-Harburg and technology management at NIT Hamburg-Harburg. For her Ph.D. at TU Berlin, she was involved in the process development and scale-up from laboratory to pilot scale for a novel enzymatic process for oleochemical products. As a member of the NEnzy Group, she works at Covestro in Leverkusen, focusing on the industrial application of NEnzy enzymes.

Kristina Schell studied molecular and cell biology in Marburg and focused on biochemistry during her master thesis at the MPI for terrestrial microbiology. During her Ph.D. at the University of Stuttgart she worked on structure-based enzyme engineering of cyclases, combining rational and randomized laboratory enzyme engineering methods with molecular simulations of enzyme structures. As a member of the NEnzy Group, she works at Covestro in Leverkusen, focusing on enzyme engineering.

Simone Göbbels studied biotechnology at the FH Aachen and molecular and applied biotechnology at the RWTH Aachen. Since 2020 she is working at Covestro in Leverkusen and since August 2022, she is part of the NEnzy team as biotechnology technician.

Daniela Knopp completed her bachelor's and master's studies at Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, with a focus on synthetic and molecular biology. Afterwards she has been working for two years in industry in the field of strain development. Since October 2022 she is part of the NEnzy group and is working on the biodegradation of polymers at Covestro in Leverkusen for her Ph.D. thesis.

Georg Röhling studied molecular and applied biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University and has been working as a doctoral researcher since March 2023 in the NEnzy Group, as part of the Institute of Biotechnology, at RWTH Aachen University. The topic of his Ph.D. thesis is enzymatic wastewater treatment, where he applies his core competencies – process engineering and enzyme catalysis – for the implementation.

Linda Pastor studied biology at RWTH Aachen University for her bachelor and pursued molecular and applied biotechnology for her master, focusing on medical biotechnology. After completing her studies, she started her Ph.D. in September 2022 in the NEnzy group as part of the Institute of Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University, working on the topic of enzymatic recycling of polymers.

Lisa Seibt has completed her studies in Biochemistry at the HHU Düsseldorf, as well as a Master´s in chemistry at the University of Manchester. She joined the NEnzy team at the Leverkusen site as laboratory technician in 2024 and supports the work on the topics enzymatic recycling of polymers and wastewater recycling.

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schwaneberg
Head of Institute of Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen, Professor for Biotechnology
Member of the Board of Scientific Directors at DWI

Prof. em. Dr. Donald Hilvert
Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, ETH Zürich

Dr. Gernot Jäger
Head of Biotechnology, Covestro Leverkusen