Robin Teufel
Graphical Abstract
“If I could go back in time and do any experiment, it would be to collect some DNA (or to make life easier some eggs) from a T. rex and make Jurassic Park happen—at least my kids would love that … The best advice I have ever been given is to strike while the iron is hot …” Find out more about Robin Teufel in his Introducing … Profile.
Robin Teufel
The author presented on this page has published his first article as a submitting corresponding author in Angewandte Chemie:
“Catalytic Control of Spiroketal Formation in Rubromycin Polyketide Biosynthesis”: M. Toplak, R. Saleem-Batcha, J. Piel and R. Teufel, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, doi.org/10.1002/anie.202109384; Angew. Chem. 2021, doi.org/10.1002/ange.202109384.
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Position:
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Research Group Leader, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg (Germany)
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Homepage:
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ORCID:
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Education:
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2008 Diploma in Biology at the University of Freiburg (Germany)
2011 Doctorate with Georg Fuchs, University of Freiburg (Germany)
2012–2014 Postdoc with Bradley Moore at the University of California San Diego (USA)
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Research:
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Natural product biosynthesis, enzymology
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Hobbies:
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Running, scuba-diving/snorkeling, fishkeeping
If I could go back in time and do any experiment, it would be to collect some DNA (or to make life easier some eggs) from a T. rex and make Jurassic Park happen—at least my kids would love that ;).
Science is fun because it never gets boring and what else is there to do?
The most challenging part of my job is time management.
I chose my current career path because I love teaching, research and cool compounds from nature.
To improve my work-life balance, I go running or hiking.
My not-so-secret passion is fish and coral-keeping.
The best advice I have ever been given is to strike while the iron is hot.
When I was a kid I wanted to be a paleontologist.
If I had one year of paid leave I would travel the world with my family or write a book.
I can never resist a good cup of coffee.
The principal aspect of my personality is persistence.
My favorite science communicator is Sabine Hossenfelder.
My favorite molecule is tetrodotoxin.
My favorite food is vegetarian Yufka.
My top three films of all time are Life of Brian, The Big Lebowski and Avatar (in 3D).
Behind the Science
I was initially fascinated by the complexity of rubromycin natural products and the possible involvement of flavin-dependent redox tailoring enzymes in their biosynthesis, as I was studying a similar system during my postdoc. It proved to be an extremely challenging and oftentimes confusing project, but it paid off eventually when we managed to identify the most exciting enzymes and reactions in this biosynthetic pathway. The biggest challenge certainly was to handle and characterize the often unstable and fleeting substrates, intermediates, and products. Luckily, I was very naive in the beginning, otherwise this project may have never been started …
