Prof. Dr.-Ing. Katrin Ochsenreither has been Professor of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology at Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences (Pirmasens Campus) since May 2025. Her research and teaching combine biotechnology, bioprocess engineering, and sustainable material and product development. The focus is on how microorganisms and enzymes can be used in a targeted manner to produce platform chemicals, bioproducts, and functional biomaterials from renewable raw materials and side streams in an efficient, scalable, and resource-saving manner.

Research focus

Her scientific profile is characterized by industrial (especially fungal) biotechnology, fermentation and process development, and biocatalysis in innovative reaction systems. A particular focus is on:

• Fermentation processes with yeasts and filamentous or anaerobic fungi (from laboratory to pilot scale logic),
• Biomaterials and bio-based products (including biofabricated structures),
• Process intensification and alternative media, in particular (natural) deep eutectic solvents,
• Upcycling approaches for the utilization of complex residual and side streams in the spirit of the bioeconomy.

Range of methods

The working method is consistently application- and transfer-oriented: from microbial production, process control, monitoring, and scale-up to analytics and product/process evaluation. This includes, among other things, the development and optimization of cultivation strategies, the coupling of process and product parameters, and the establishment of robust analytics (e.g., HPLC, GC).