Melany is on a quest to turn a lesser used alga, Cyanidioschyzon merolae 10D into a bioengineering powerhouse, in this poster, herself and Postdoc Sebastian Overmans showed that they can engineer the alga to produce volatile isoprene (the chemical that makes rubber) as a co-product during its cultivation. They show the optimal production parameters for this using a special set-up in our lab with 20-parallel bioreactors connected to a gas-analysis system. Melany then showed that she can use the effluent from wastewater treatment as a medium for algal cultivation and isoprene production, if nutrients were added to it.

The committee judged the poster on its aesthetics, scientific depth and her presentation of the work, she was also requested to do a flash talk (3 min) about the poster.

Congratulations Melany!