Denmark is a world leader when it comes to the green transition. Anaerobic digesters are used across Denmark to process waste (e.g. from manure, crops, wastewater) but also to produce renewable energy in the form of biogas. Microorganisms are responsible for the work, but we still lack knowledge of the majority of them. In the project Caitlin will investigate how we can make microbes work for us and thereby advance the green transition. 

The fellowship, valued 2.4 million DKK over a 3year period, will facilitate Caitlin’s work with professor and Head of Center for Microbial Communities, Per Halkjær Nielsen, and other internal and external collaborators of the Center for Microbial Communities at Aalborg University  

- Through the project, I aim to recover the entire genomes (essentially the resumes or CVs) of hundreds of these microorganisms, so we can see what they are doing in the system, and who the important drivers are. We can also use this information to encourage greater efficiency in waste treatment and biogas production, says Caitlin, and continues; Thanks to the grant, I will be able to stay in Denmark and at AAU to do this project.

Altogether, the Foundation has awarded five postdoctoral fellowship grants and 10 project grants within the Industrial Biotechnology and Environmental Biology programme. These projects will contribute to solving challenges within industrial biotechnology and biobased production or develop biological solutions with a global impact on the environment.

Further information

Project title is: High-throughput full-genome characterisation of the microbes responsible for efficient biogas production in anaerobic digesters.

Information about the Center for Microbial Communities and the Novo Nordisk Foundation can be found by clicking on the links below:

CENTER FOR MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES

NOVO NORDISK FOUNDATION

 

Contact

• Postdoc Caitlin Singleton, email: cms@bio.aau.dk, tel.: +45 9940 8065
• Communication Camilla Kristensen, email: cakr@bio.aau.dk, tel.: +45 9940 9905