Here we introduce the OXIPRO sustainability team at VTT (from left to right in the photo): Katri Behm, Mona Arnold  and Eveliina Hylkilä. Mona is the Work Package Leader for WP6 Sustainability, and is therefore a member of the OXIPRO management and scientific committees;  Katri is our senior researcher for the environmental impact assessments; and Eveliina is our junior researcher working alongside Katri.   The group are all colleagues in VTT’s Sustainable Business Team, which forms part of the Business...

OXIPRO researchers from NORCE and LEITAT participated in the International conference on marine biotechnology, Bioprosp, held this year from 14-16th of March in Tromsø, Norway.   Bioprosp takes place biannually in snowy Tromsø, an internationally recognised city for world-class biotechnology research  - in other words, “the hot spot for cool biotech”. This meeting focuses on the highly unexplored and full of potential source of biomolecules in the marine environment. Marine biotechnology and bioprospecting are key topics discussed during the meeting,...

OXIPRO is delighted to welcome two new members to our project team and provide them with an opportunity to further their careers:   Espen Joon Søvik - Masters Student at NORCE Espen completed his undergraduate degree in psychology from Bergen University in the mid-2000s. After working in an unrelated job for close to a decade, a desire to regain some control over his future career led him back to school. The choice fell on molecular biology, primarily due to an...

OXIPRO partners are delighted to welcome onboard our newest early career researchers: Giorgia Liberati (REDINN); Ivan Dimitri (UAB); and Anna Kraaijeveld Enerstvedt (NORCE):     Giorgia Liberati (REDINN) Giorgia studied environmental engineering in Bologna, specialising in the circular economy, the design and monitoring of sustainable industrial processes, and environmental impact assessment methodologies. After graduating with an MSc in the application of statistical methods for the evaluation of anaerobic digestion process parameters and biotechnological enhancement of Mediterranean agro-wastes, Giorgia launched her...

Enzyme solutions in targeted consumer sectors can significantly reduce greenhouse gasses and increase product sustainability.   Four EU-funded sibling projects: EnXylaScope, FuturEnzyme, OXIPRO and RadicalZ, have just launched this policy brief to provide scientific insight to support and inform EC policy areas, including the European Green Deal and Bioeconomy strategies.   The policy brief outlines consumer concerns about the environment, the issues and challenges of specific industries in aligning with environmental, social and economic EC strategies, directives and policies, and how...

Active Site Newsletter #4 - providing news and events on enzymes for greener products from OXIPRO and our sister projects EnXylaScope, FuturEnzymes and RadicalZ - is OUT NOW! This issue relates to the focus of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science which examines the role of women in the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The editorial points out that: "In terms of scientific development, there is a clear gap between women’s interest in a sustainable world, and their opportunities...

OXIPRO partner Novozymes is proud to announce that it has been recognized for leadership in corporate transparency and performance on climate change by global environmental non-profit organisation CDP, securing a place on its annual ‘A List’ (see report here)   In a year of ever-increasing environmental concerns around the world – from extreme weather to unprecedented losses to nature – the need for transformational, urgent and collaborative change is more critical than ever. CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world,...

OXIPRO is delighted to welcome onboard Helena Balfagon Campos, who has recently started as a junior researcher at LEITAT (CE-Applied Microbiology & Biotechnologies).   Helena was in Barcelona, Spain, where she built her biology basis at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. After her graduation, she successfully undertook a master's degree in microbiology for which she developed her Msc thesis in the respiratory virus department of Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), where she studied the molecular epidemiology of Respiratory Sincitial Virus...

Delegates from OXIPRO's coordinating organisation NORCE recently participated in the Bioflavour Conference, held this year from 27th – 30th of September in Frankfurt, Germany.   Over 150 participants from more than 17 countries represented different industries, research institutes and universities at the conference, which was organised to bring recent biotechnological developments in the synthesis and production of flavour, fragrance, and functional compounds. The production and analysis of these compounds were discussed in the form of scientific talks and posters which...

LEITAT is a private technological centre located in Terrassa, Spain with more than 110 years' experience in R&D, technology transfer and industrial innovation services. The center’s expertise brings value to a wide range of industries and sectors through dedicated R&D and tech transfer services, and it applies research in the fields of chemistry, energy, environment, materials, engineering and life sciences.   Here we introduce the OXIPRO biotech team at LEITAT (from left to right in the photo): Belen Castro, Helena...

For responsible research to be made meaningful, it must be communicated to all relevant stakeholders in the most effective ways and at the most opportune times. This is not a easy task, yet stakeholder engagement is fundamental to project success and achieving the expected impact. Importantly, it is often mandatory in a third-party funding context.   OXIPRO partners SB Science Management (SBSM) and REDINN, have just published a succinct, practical guide to planning stakeholder engagement, titled ‘Ten simple rules on how to develop a...

OXIPRO is excited to announce our first joint publication with a sister project, FuturEnzyme. Titled ‘EP-pred: A Machine Learning Tool for Bioprospecting Promiscuous Ester Hydrolases,’ the paper presents a computer model to predict enzyme’s promiscuity from a sequence alone. It is the result of a successful collaborative effort involving co-authors Ruite Xiang , Ana Robles-Martin and Victor Guallar from Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC); along with Laura Fernandez-Lopez and Manuel Ferrer, Department of Applied Biocatalysis, ICP, CSIC. The paper is accessible here Xiang, R.;...