Three Young Scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Successful with the Carl Zeiss Foundation
Three emerging scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), two of whom are from the Helmholtz Research Field Information, have been successful with their projects at the Carl Zeiss Foundation. Within the CZS Nexus funding program, they will each receive around 1.5 million euros for a period of up to five years. Dr. Nadja Alina Henke is researching how to precisely scale bioprocesses from laboratory scale to industrial scale. Dr. Gözde Kabay from the Helmholtz Research Field Information is developing biosensors for rapid diagnosis of kidney damage, and Dr. Jingyuan Xu Helmholtz Research Field Information is exploring the development of CO₂-neutral and electricity-free cooling. (Source: Karlsruhe Institute of Technology – Press Releases)
“I am very pleased that with Nadja Alina Henke, Gözde Kabay, and Jingyuan Xu, three young researchers from KIT have successfully obtained funding from the Carl Zeiss Foundation for their interdisciplinary and ambitious projects,” says Professor Oliver Kraft, Vice President of Research at KIT. “Their exciting research projects in biotechnology, medical diagnostics, and energy technology have great potential and are forward-looking.”
Transferring Biotechnological Processes from the Laboratory to Industrial Scales
Sustainable and innovative biotechnological processes, such as the production of proteins or dyes, offer central solutions to major societal challenges, like climate change, energy crisis, or rising supply demands. Dr. Nadja Alina Henke from the Institute for Bio and Food Technology at KIT aims with her BIOSCALE project to precisely transfer bioprocesses from the lab to industrial scales. Until now, this transition has mostly used concepts from the chemical industry. “Bioprocesses, however, follow the complex physiology of cells characterized by gene regulation and biochemical interactions,” says Henke. “In my concept, I want to better understand and scale bioprocesses by systematically recording transcriptome data.” BIOSCALE combines bio-process engineering, molecular biotechnology, and data science to more purposefully and systematically scale bioprocesses, thus shortening development times and increasing success rates and process qualities. The BIOSCALE concept aims to be universally applicable and transferable to other biotechnological processes.
Biosensors for Rapid Diagnosis of Acute Kidney Injuries
Acute kidney failure (AKI) is one of the most common and complex clinical syndromes with high morbidity and mortality. So far, formal diagnostic parameters in terms of their specificity and sensitivity have been inadequate. The specialized tests and equipment used to examine patient samples are cumbersome and costly. Dr. Gözde Kabay, junior group leader at the Institute for Functional Interfaces at KIT, is developing in her IDEArt project (short for Interdigitated electrode biosensor decorated with artificially imprinted polymer receptors for rapid diagnosis of Acute Kidney Injury) portable, affordable biosensors. These enable sensitive early-stage detection of multiple AKI biomarkers simultaneously in clinical and personalized settings. They aim to improve AKI prognosis and patient outcomes. “My design combines artificial receptor synthesis, simultaneous early-stage AKI-specific biomarker screening, sensitive data detection, user-friendly data visualization, and Wi-Fi-based data transmission,” says Kabay. “It’s cost-effective, accurate, and accessible. It will enhance early-stage AKI diagnosis in both rural and urban areas and facilitate the development of more biosensor types for detecting numerous diseases.”
CO₂-neutral and Electricity-free Cooling for a Sustainable Future
Cooling technology accounts for about 17% of global electricity consumption. Currently, gas compression units dominate the market, using climate-damaging gaseous refrigerants with a high global warming potential. Junior group leader Dr. Jingyuan Xu from the Institute for Microstructure Technology at KIT is working on her ELASTO COOL project, which deals with elastocaloric cooling devices powered by heat, representing a promising electricity-free alternative. These cooling methods rely on thermal changes in shape-memory alloys under mechanical stress, showing no climate-damaging effects of solid refrigerants and exhibit high resource and energy efficiency. “I want to develop a demonstrator that operates emission-free without electricity consumption, uses extremely fatigue-resistant shape-memory layers with efficient heat transfer, and achieves a competitive temperature range for cooling technology,” says Xu. The project takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining materials science, thermodynamics, microtechnology, and engineering. The focus is on miniature cooling, such as for electronic chips or temperature control of bio-analytical chips. At the same time, the scientist aims to lay the groundwork for future large-scale climate-neutral cooling devices.
CZS Nexus Funding Program of the Carl Zeiss Foundation
The Carl Zeiss Foundation promotes research and teaching in the STEM disciplines of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technology. The CZS Nexus funding program supports outstanding young scientists who want to implement exciting ideas at the intersections of various STEM disciplines. This enables them to establish their interdisciplinary research group and supports them on their path to a scientific career. The funding amounts to up to 1.5 million euros per junior group over a period of five to six years.
KIT/S. Fodi, 14.09.2023
The original press release can be found at:
Forschung zu Bioprozessen, Biosensoren und Kälteerzeugung (only in german)
Localization in the Helmholtz Research Field Information:
Helmholtz Research Field Information, Program 3: Materials Systems Engineering, Topic 1: Functionality by Information-guided Design: From Molecular Concepts to Materials & Topic 3: Adaptive and Bioinstructive Materials Systems
Contact:
Dr. Gözde Kabay
Leader of the workgroup biosensors
Institute of Functional Interfaces (IFG)
Karlsruher Institute for Technology (KIT)
Phone: +49 721-608-23588
E-Mail: gozde.kabay@kit.edu
Dr. Jingyuan Xu
Leiterin der Arbeitsgruppe Biosensoren
Institut für Mikrostrukturtechnik (IMT)
Karlsruher Institute for Technology (KIT)
Phone: +49 721-608-24781
E-Mail: Jingyuan.xu@kit.edu
Contact for this press release:
Dr. Sabine Fodi
Press Officer
Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
Phone: +49 721 608-41154
E-Mail: sabine.fodi@kit.edu
