Forum Junge Spitzenforschung
Contact
Jury & Speaker
Alexandra-Gwyn Paetz
Alexandra-Gwyn Paetz
Managing Director | Berlin University Alliance
Alexandra-Gwyn Paetz has served as Managing Director of the Berlin University Alliance since June 2022.
The Berlin University Alliance was established by the three major Berlin universities (Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin) and the Charité in the context of the Excellence Strategy of the federal and state governments. The Alliance set out to jointly develop the Berlin research area and establish it as leading European research location. Her role is to establish the recently formed collaboration platform of the Berlin University Alliance, which serves as the administrative or management unit for the joint activities of the four partners. Previously, she held various positions at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, most recently as head of Head of the Strategic Development and Communication Department and Head of the Supervisory Board Office at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. In this position she was responsible for – among other things – academic appointments, quality management and strategic controlling. She also represented the KIT in various committees that connect the KIT with different social actors, such as the Helmholtz Working Group on Knowledge Transfer. Alexandra holds a degree in Business Administration from the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich with additional education in Business Transactions & Technology Transfer from the University of Zurich and in Strategic Competence in Supervisory Boards from the Berlin School in Economics and Law.
Lia Carlucci
Lia Carlucci
Managing Director Food Campus Berlin | Artprojekt Nature & Nutrition GmbH
Lia Carlucci is a pioneer of the German Food Tech field. She has built up her own food start-ups, worked as an investor for Jägermeister and co-founded Germany's largest network for nutrition experts. Since the beginning of 2024, she has become Managing Director of the Food Campus Berlin, an emerging innovation center for the future of nutrition in the heart of Berlin.
Katharina Petereit
Katharina Petereit
Management | KitchenTown GmbH & Co. KG
Katharina is the Managing Director of KitchenTown, but also a food technologist and product developer: As such, she started at KitchenTown 5 years ago and has since built up the Innovation Hub in Berlin and accompanied countless start-ups and companies from idea generation to product development and commercialization. Katharina and her team at KitchenTown Berlin made it their mission to shape the future of the food industry through innovative approaches and accelerated collaboration between start-ups and companies.
Dr. David Gebhardt-Mencke
Dr. David Gebhardt-Mencke
Head of Innovation and Business Development | H&F Group
David Gebhardt-Mencke currently leads the newly established Innovation & Business Development department within the H&F Group. The H&F Group is a pioneer that has become known in the last 90 years in the field of circular economy through the production of pectins, functional fibers and natural coloring ingredients from apple pomace and citrus peels for various food applications. David Gebhardt-Mencke studied food science and technology at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences in 2004 and graduated with a Master's degree in 2010. In between, he worked for 6 months at the University of Alberta in Canada on a research project on the high-pressure treatment of Chlostridium spores. While completing his Master's thesis, David Gebhardt-Mencke participated as a research assistant in an EU project on biodegradable polymers at his alma mater. In January 2011, David Gebhardt-Mencke started at Herbafood Ingredients, part of the H&F Group, as a technical salesman and became head of technical sales in 2012, focusing on functional citrus fibers and coloring apple extracts. In this position, David Gebhardt-Mencke was responsible for global sales activities, application work and the implementation of the global growth strategy. From 2017, he became an authorized signatory with responsibility for production, quality service and the application technology centre for Herbafood Ingredients. In his current position as Head of Innovation and Business Development, David reviews new product concepts, services and collaborations, builds and supports strategic business for the entire H&F Group, combining tasks in the areas of pectin, functional fibers, natural brown colors and other topics related to the use of side streams.
Henriette Keuffel
Henriette Keuffel
Leitung Netzwerk | Forum Moderne Landwirtschaft e.V.
Gründerin | LBG Glasiner Gold GmbH
Henriette Keuffel ist auf einem landwirtschaftlichen Betrieb mit Schweinehaltung und Ackerbau aufgewachsen und hat dadurch früh ihre Begeisterung für die Landwirtschaft und deren Innovationskraft entdeckt. Seit fünf Jahren ist sie Projektleiterin des AgrarScouts-Netzwerkes beim Forum Moderne Landwirtschaft. In dieser Rolle setzt sie sich leidenschaftlich für die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit und den Dialog zwischen Landwirtschaft und Gesellschaft ein. Als systemische Trainerin für das Bildungswerk der Deutschen Landwirtschaft bei der Andreas-Hermes-Akademie (AHA) unterstützt sie Landwirt:innen dabei, ihre Kommunikation und Führungsstärke weiterzuentwickeln. Als Botschafterin des Nuffield Farming Germany Agrarstipendienprogramms fördert sie den internationalen Wissensaustausch und innovative Ansätze für die Agrarbranche. Getreu des Mottos: Machen ist wie wollen, nur krasser! ist Henriette gemeinsam mit ihrer Schwester auch Geschäftsführerin der LBG Glasiner Gold GmbH, die sich auf die Produktion von Speiseeis und weiteren Leckerein aus dem Superfood Ziegenmilch spezialisiert hat. Sie engagiert sich zudem als Mitglied der German Agrifood Society und bringt ihre Expertise seit drei Jahren in Folge als Jurorin bei der German Agrifood Challenge ein, die gemeinsam mit der German Agrifood Society, dem Deutschen Bauernverband und der AHA ausgerichtet wird. Henriette verbindet fundiertes Wissen über landwirtschaftliche Praxis und moderne Ansätze der Öffentlichkeitsarbeit mit einem breiten Netzwerk in der Agrar- und Ernährungsbranche. Ihr Ziel ist es, die Zukunft der Landwirtschaft aktiv mitzugestalten, sei es durch innovative Konzepte oder den Brückenschlag zwischen Forschung, Praxis und Gesellschaft.
Aneta Bärwolf
Aneta Bärwolf
Team Leader Knowledge and Technology Transfer | Profund Innovation, Freie Universität Berlin
Aneta Bärwolf leads the Knowledge and Technology Transfer team at Freie Universität Berlin and is also part of the management team of Science & Startups, the start-up service association of the three Berlin universities. Her role is to promote the transfer of research results and innovations into practice and to strengthen cooperation between science and industry. Together with her team, she supports researchers in making their developments usable through patents, licensing and corporate partnerships. Through Science & Startups, she is also committed to promoting start-ups in science and further strengthening the innovative power of the region.
Prof. Dr. Sascha Rohn
Prof. Dr. Sascha Rohn
Professor of Food Chemistry and Analytics | Technical University of Berlin
Sascha Rohn, born in 1973, studied food chemistry at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt/Main. He passed the state examination to become a state-certified food chemist in the summer of 1999 and completed his doctorate in food chemistry in 2002 under Jürgen Kroll at the Institute of Nutritional Science at the University of Potsdam on the campus of the German Institute of Human Nutrition Potsdam-Rehbrücke (DIfE). From 2004 to 2011, he habilitated at the Institute of Food Chemistry at TU Berlin under Lothar W. Kroh. From 2009 to 2020, he was Professor of Food Chemistry at the University of Hamburg. He has been back at TU Berlin since October 2020. His research group focuses on the analysis of secondary plant substances, in particular the stability and reactivity of bioactive ingredients in the treatment and processing of plant-based food and animal feed. In April 2015, he also took over as Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Food and Environmental Research e.V. (ILU) in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, where he was Scientific Director from 2019-2023. His main focus here is on the areas of applied food research and research funding. The results of his work have already been presented to a wide audience in almost 400 publications.
Dr. Timm Schwaar
Dr. Timm Schwaar
Managing Director & Co-Founder | SAFIA Technologies GmbH
Dr. Timm Schwaar is co-founder and managing director of SAFIA Technologies GmbH. He studied chemistry at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and completed his PhD in applied analytics and environmental chemistry in 2021. His professional career includes his doctoral studies at the Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) and the management of the EXIST research transfer project to prepare the foundation of SAFIA. Since 2022, Timm has been managing SAFIA Technologies together with Peter Carl. He is responsible for business development, financing and customer relations at SAFIA.
Finalists
Dr. Ahmad Alhariri
Freie Universität Berlin
Seed Priming to Induce Cold Stress Memory in Sugar Beet
Dr. Ahmad Alhariri
Freie Universität Berlin
Seed Priming to Induce Cold Stress Memory in Sugar Beet
Due to the upsurge in the warm climate, winter becomes shorter with more severe and unpredictable cold waves in both tropical and temperate regions, increasing the risk of cold damage to standing crops like sugar beet. Being the main sugar producing crop in temperate regions and typically grown as a spring crop, sugar beet’s yield is limited by a short season compared to autumn-planted crops in warmer climates. We developed an effective, climate-neutral, and sustainable cold seed priming technique to induce cold stress memory in sugar beet plants. This method could extend the growing season by boosting frost resistance and allowing earlier planting. Priming-induced memory makes the seedlings withstand freezing better, with enhanced physiological stress responses and survival rate. Cold seed priming presents an eco-friendly alternative to conventional cold stress and frost management. Our new approach supports more resilient agriculture and enhances yield while reducing environmental impact.
Dr. Helena Kieserling, Daniel Güterbock
Technische Universität Berlin
Reducing the allergenicity of milk proteins – use of optimized phenol-rich plant-based raw materials in mixed milk drinks
Dr. Helena Kieserling, Daniel Güterbock
Technische Universität Berlin
Reducing the allergenicity of milk proteins – use of optimized phenol-rich plant-based raw materials in mixed milk drinks
Milk proteins such as casein and whey protein are among the most common triggers of food allergies, especially in children. Current hypoallergenic alternatives are often expensive and technologically complex, as the proteins have to be completely degraded. The approach of this project aims at the structural modification of the allergenic protein epitopes without completely degrading the proteins. Phenolic compounds from plant extracts, such as apple pomace, can mask the allergenic structures. This project specifically investigates these reactions in order to reduce the allergenicity of milk proteins and develop hypoallergenic dairy products such as mixed milk drinks. Sustainable extracts from by-products of fruit processing are being used. Recipes and production processes are optimized so that they can be integrated into existing production lines with the aim of developing innovative hypoallergenic products.
Arkadi Kundik, Ankur Midha
Freie Universität Berlin
OptoVAX
Arkadi Kundik, Ankur Midha
Freie Universität Berlin
OptoVAX
Intestinal parasitoses, in particular roundworm infections, are the most common infectious diseases worldwide. These parasites cause billions in economic losses in animal agriculture by reducing the efficiency of meat production. Existing treatments are inadequate as they do not effectively prevent reinfections. These unsuccessful approaches to control roundworm infections lead to environmental contamination with toxic disinfectants and antibiotics. Vaccines can play a crucial role in controlling the spread of these diseases. Previous vaccination studies have not shown adequate protection due to inhomogeneous treatments. We are therefore developing OptoVAX, an innovative platform technology for the production of live attenuated vaccines using AI-guided optics. OptoVAX has the potential to master the translation from research to application and to establish itself as a novel technology for live vaccines against parasites.
Prof. Dr. Tim Landgraf, Marie Messerich, Ekaterina Melnikova
Freie Universität Berlin
POLLY
Prof. Dr. Tim Landgraf, Marie Messerich, Ekaterina Melnikova
Freie Universität Berlin
POLLY
POLLY is an autonomous robot that can specifically control the foraging behaviour of honeybees and thus sustainably optimize pollination efficiency in agriculture. Foragers are trained to find POLLY and climb inside without any human assistance. As soon as forager bees search for food in POLLY, their spatial memory is manipulated with visual patterns so that they report back to the hive from much more distant sources. Bees use the so-called bee dance to indicate to their nestmates WHERE they can find valuable food. POLLY is the first system that can introduce location information on virtual food sources into a bee colony without opening the hive and thus recruit new foragers to fly to the new sources. This allows honey producers to create specific mixtures and pollination service providers to achieve greater coverage more efficiently than before. Beekeepers can use POLLY to influence the collection activities of bees and thus reduce pesticide inputs, for example.
POLLY offers an innovative solution for the agricultural sector to mitigate the effects of climate change and make food production more efficient and environmentally friendly through the use of new technologies.
Dominik Gaedecke, Isis von Ulardt
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Vegan cold cuts made from fermented root vegetables
Dominik Gaedecke, Isis von Ulardt
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Vegan cold cuts made from fermented root vegetables
The project is dedicated to the development of innovative vegan alternatives to raw ham and salami based on root vegetables and legume proteins. In contrast to conventional soy or seitan-based products, these alternatives should offer a balanced nutritional value and be free from additives that must be declared. The aim is to enable traditional meat-processing companies to switch to vegan products easily and cost-effectively by rethinking proven sausage production processes. Without the use of complex and cost-intensive technologies, medium-sized companies are to be given access to a future-proof, sustainable product range aimed at the growing vegan food market.
Dr. Charlotte Rafaluk-Mohr (Rafaluk), Dr. Claudia Keil
Technische Universität Berlin
Bugs in bugs – an optimised feed stuff for mealworms
Dr. Charlotte Rafaluk-Mohr (Rafaluk), Dr. Claudia Keil
Technische Universität Berlin
Bugs in bugs – an optimised feed stuff for mealworms
Our idea is to maximise the health of mealworms reared for human food through probiotic and micro-nutrient supplementation. The production of insects for human food is a rapidly growing industry that is currently receiving a huge amount of attention. One of the key drivers of this growth is the environmentally friendly, globally accessible and sustainable alternative that insect protein provides to traditional meat. Disease spread and health in insect cultures, however, will provide growing challenges as this industry continues to grow. So far solutions are lacking. We are tackling this with our research projects. We aim to design an optimised feeding regime for insects that protects against pathogens without the need for antibiotics, via supplementation with probiotic bacteria, and maximised immune health through zinc and iron supplementation. We hope our feeding regime can allow the growth of this industry to a mass production levels, while maintaining environmental friendliness, supporting public health and being globally accessible.
Program
Location
Spielfeld Digital Hub GmbH | Skalitzer Straße 85/86 | 10997 Berlin
Moderation
Sebastian Kiss | Innovation Management, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
from 16:00 Admission
16:30 Welcome & Presentation
Alexandra-Gwyn Paetz | Berlin University Alliance
Rainer Lüdtke | Geschäftsführender Vorstand, Stiftung Industrieforschung
Presentation block I
16:45 Seed Priming to Induce Cold Stress Memory in Sugar Beet
Dr. Ahmad Alhariri | Freie Universität Berlin
17:00 Reduzierung der Allergenität von Milchproteinen – Einsatz optimierter phenolreicher pflanzlicher Rohstoffe in Milchmischgetränken
Dr. Helena Kieserling, Daniel Güterbock | Technische Universität Berlin
17:15 OptoVAX
Arkadi Kundik, Ankur Midha | Freie Universität Berlin
17:30 Coffee break
Presentation block II
17:45 POLLY
Prof. Dr. Tim Landgraf, Marie Messerich, Ekaterina Melnikova | Freie Universität Berlin
18:00 Veganer Aufschnitt aus fermentiertem Wurzelgemüse
Dominik Gaedecke, Isis von Ulardt | Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
18:15 Bugs in bugs - an optimised feed stuff for mealworms
Dr. Charlotte Rafaluk-Mohr | Freie Universität Berlin, Dr. Claudia Keil | Technische Universität Berlin
Discussion
(simultaneously from 18:30 Jury deliberation)
18:30 Wie kommen Innovationen aus der Forschung in die Anwendung?
Aneta Bärwolf | Leitung Profund Innovation
Prof. Sascha Rohn | Technische Universität Berlin
Dr. Timm Schwaar | SAFIA Technologies GmbH
Moderation: Selina Byfield | Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin