Cologne, Germany
July 3, 2000

Dr. Martina Pohl has been appointed Research Director Protein Biotechnology of MPB Cologne GmbH, the Molecular Farming company based in Cologne, Germany.

Dr. Klaus Düring, President & CEO of MPB Cologne, said: "We are convinced that Martina Pohl is excellently qualified for the position of Research Director Protein Biotechnology in our company. She now holds a key position with responsibility for development and scale-up of MPB’s technologies for purification of proteins from plant tissues. She will also direct our activities within protein analysis and protein engineering."

Before joining MPB Cologne Martina Pohl worked for the department of Prof. Kula at the Institute of Enzyme Technology in Jülich, Germany, being the head of the protein engineering group. Her research focused on the optimization of industrially applied enzymes by means of biochemical and molecular biological optimization and on reaction engineering. Starting her new position Pohl said: "I’m highly convinced that Molecular Farming is one of the most important technologies for the future. I’m looking forward to work in this exciting field in an internationally operating company."

MPB Cologne uses potato tubers and rape (canola) seeds as bioreactors for economical production of proteins as novel (bio-) materials and active agents. Another focus is on Resistance Engineering against bacterial and fungal pathogens in transgenic plants. The company now holds about 35 employees.

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