Meet Antonia Schneider

Antonia Schneider

My project focuses on constructing a synthetic operon for glycolytic genes to express them in a synthetic cell.

Hi! My name is Antonia, and I’m from Bremen, Germany. I completed my BSc in Biology there, where I developed a strong passion for microbiology and molecular biology. After that, I pursued a MSc in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Groningen, and then spent two years working as a strain engineer at a biotech start-up. There, I gained experience in genetic engineering of bacteria and yeast to optimise their metabolism towards sustainable production of high-quality chemicals.

I’ve always been fascinated by the complexity of metabolic networks—how they function, how we can harness genetic engineering to tailor them for our purpose, and most importantly, how much we don’t know about them yet. Additionally, I really enjoyed working in interdisciplinary and international teams, which is also one of the reasons I’m excited to be part of the EVOLF consortium.

As part of EVOLF, I am working at the University of Groningen in the Molecular Systems Biology group of Matthias Heinemann. My project focuses on constructing a synthetic operon for glycolytic genes to express them in a synthetic cell. To achieve this, we will first test the operon on a plasmid in an E. coli strain lacking chromosomal glycolysis and optimize it through in vivo evolution.

Outside the lab, you’ll often find me running or at the gym—I love staying active and being outdoors, especially hiking. Besides, I enjoy reading, listening to podcasts, going to concerts and I’ve recently started reviving my long-lost piano skills.