Melanie WEINGARTEN
Melanie WEINGARTENAdjunct Associate Professor
[email protected]

Affiliations

Co-Head of Biotransformation and Engineering Department, SIFBI, A*STAR
Co-Lead of Joint Fermentation Lab
Adjunct Associate Professor, Nanyang Technological University
Adjunct Associate Professor, NUS Synthetic Biology for Clinical and Technological Innovation (SynCTI)

Biography

Melanie Weingarten is Co-Head of the Biotransformation and Engineering Department at A*STAR’s Singapore Institute of Food and Biotechnology Innovation (SIFBI) and Co-Lead of the Fermentation Joint Lab at Nurasa (www.nurasa.com). She is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University and National University of Singapore, where she teaches and engages in Food Chemistry and Nutrition as well as Synthetic Biology. Since 2025, she is a Co-PI at the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein at NUS. Previously, she was a Senior Researcher at BASF SE, contributing to projects across several chemical sectors and played a key role in developing BASF’s novel insecticide, Inscalis™. With a strong foundation in chemistry and physics, Weingarten’s academic journey took her from RWTH Aachen University, Germany to University of California, Berkeley, US which culminated in a doctorate under Prof Alois Fürstner at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Germany, followed by post-doctoral research with Prof Barbara Imperiali at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US.

Education

01/2007 – 06/2008 Post-doctoral studies in Biochemistry and Microbiology Prof. Dr. Imperiali, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA
07/2003 – 12/2006 Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry and Natural Product Synthesis Prof. Dr. Fürstner, Max-Planck-Institute for Coal Research (MPI), Mülheim/ Ruhr, Germany
11/2002 – 05/2003 Diploma Thesis in Synthetic, Medicinal and Computational Chemistry Prof. Dr. Ellman, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA and Prof. Dr. Enders, RWTH Aachen, Germany

Research Interest

Bioscience Research & White Biotechnology
Fermentation and Downstream Processing
Combination of Biology and Chemistry
Process Research & Chemical Engineering
Organic Chemistry and Catalysis (homogeneous, heterogeneous, biocatalysis)

Current Research Projects

Co-PI for the Bezos Center for Sustainable Protein @ NUS:
The Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at the National University of Singapore (NUS) was established to advance research in alternative proteins and lead commercialisation efforts across the region. With a US$30 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, the Centre will spearhead interdisciplinary research and innovation to meet the nutritional needs of the growing global population.

Lead-PI for Singapore Germany Grant GreenCirc: Towards Zero-waste Valorization of Fruit Pomace and Peel to Bioactives via Green Extraction and Bioconversion

Co-PI of various grant projects: 1) Maximizing Value from Food Sidestreams with Green Tech, 2) Sustainable and tailored production of fungal proteins to accelerate acceptance of alternative food, 3) Sustainable Aquafeed for Local Singaporean Aquaculture, 4) Precision fermentation-based production of ω3 PUFA-enriched phospholipids for Alternative Proteins, 5) Circular Bioeconomy through Engineering Biology Network for Specialty Chemicals.

Selected Publications

  1. Z. Yun, L. K. Yang, C. Hermansen, M. R. Talukder, M. Weingarten, N. E. Fitrani, M. Wibowo, Y.
    Kanagasundaram, C. Khoo, L. Y. Lee, J. W. Ng, S. R. Puniredd ACS Sustainable Resource Management 2025, 2, 10, 1966–1976. “Sequential Drying, Extraction of Lipids and Bioactives from High-Moisture Food Sidestreams Using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: A Novel Approach for Biomass Waste Valorisation“.
  2. S. Puniredd, X. Lim, M. Weingarten, X. Chen ACS Sustainable Chemistry and
    Engineering 2025, 13, 5168-5177. “Supercritical carbon dioxide assisted recovery of endotoxin-free lycopene from Escherichia coli”.
  3. S. Y. Lee, J. A. P. Coutinho, M. Weingarten Separation and Purification Technology
    2025, 361, 131413. “Sustainable recovery of microbial-derived natural pigments using deep eutectic solvents: advances, potential, and challenges”.
  4. B. R. Lukito, A. T. Zhenghui, N. Basri, C. Hermansen, M. Weingarten, E. C. Peterson ACS
    Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2023, 71, 23, 8991-8997. “Co-culture of Kluyveromyces marxianus and Meyerozyma guilliermondii with in situ Product Recovery of 2-Phenylethanol”.
  5. M. Weingarten, R. Graichen, P. Nagler Chemie in unserer Zeit 2023, 57, 2, 114-122. “Nutrition
    revolution 2.0: Alternative Proteins for a Sustainable Future – Part 1 of 3”.
  6. I. Oroz-Guinea, C. K. Winkler, S. M. Glueck, K. Ditrich, M. Weingarten, M. Breuer, D.
    Schachtschabel, W. Kroutil ChemCatChem 2022, 14, e202101557. “Ene-Reductase
    Catalyzed Regio- and Stereoselective 1,4-Mono-Reduction of Pseudoionone to Geranylacetone”.
  7. K. Schmölzer, M. Weingarten, K. Baldenius, B. Nidetzky ACS Catalysis 2019, 9, 5503-5514.
    “Glycosynthase Principle Transformed into Biocatalytic Process Technology: Lacto-N-triose II Production with Engineered exo-Hexosaminidase“.

    Melanie Weingarten (nee Bonnekessel) has 235 patent publications (applications and granted) in 37 patent families. Selected Examples:

    WO 2025/034163: Cosmetic composition containing aristolene derivatives for earthy and medicinal scent and method thereof M. Weingarten, C. Zhang (A*STAR)

    WO 2023/3012111: Fermentative production of aroma compounds with Escherichia coli strain
    expressing ionylideneethane synthase M. Breuer, M. Weingarten (BASF SE)

    WO 2023/285329: Use of 2,3,6-Trimethyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one as aroma ingredient M. Weingarten, W. Siegel, R. Pelzer, M. Bru Roig, F. Garlichs (BASF SE)

    WO 2020/035600: Synthesis of chromanol derivatives via Friedel-Crafts alkylation using bentonite
    Catalysts M. Weingarten, W. Siegel, M. Puhl (BASF SE)

    WO 2017/037629: Improved microorganisms for the biosynthesis of pamamycins L. Petzke, A. Herold, C. Fleck, L. Marty, P. Ödman, J. Dickhaut, M. Weingarten, A. Luzhetsky, Y. Rebets, N. Manderscheid (BASF SE/ BASF China Co Ltd.).

    WO 2017/009205: Method for the hydroformylation of 2-substituted butadienes and the production of secondary products thereof, especially Ambrox J. Strautmann, S. Rüdenauer, C. Rein, M. Weingarten, R. Paciello, W. Siegel, M. Breuer (BASF SE), P. Hofmann, S. Schmidt (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg).

    US 2016/0176803: Process for the etherification of amino alcohols at low temperatures M. Weingarten, W. Siegel (BASF SE).

    WO 2016/038192: Method for preparing 2´-O-Fucosyllactose M. Puhl, K. Ditrich, A. Keller, P. Dimitrova, M. Weingarten, W. Siegel (BASF SE).

    WO 2016/150629: Biocatalytic production of L-Fucose V. Navickas, M. Breuer, M. Puhl, M. Weingarten, K. – U. Baldenius, W. Siegel (BASF SE).

    WO 2014/155214: Production of pyripyropenes from dry biomass B. Ernst, M. Ehresmann, C. Koradin, A. Pletsch, M. Bonnekessel, T. Käding, K. Schein-Albrecht, S. Demming, F. Weber, W. Siegel, H. Schröder, S. Freyer, P. Ödman (BASF SE/BASF China Co Ltd.).

    WO 2014/111398: Method for preparing a pyripyropene compound M. Bonnekessel, W. Reichert,
    R. Hoock, T. Käding, C. Koradin, A. Pletsch, M. Ehresmann, H. Schröder (BASF SE/BASF China Co Ltd.).

    WO 2013/156398: Improved process for preparing (3E,7E)-homofarnesol M. Bonnekessel, H. G. Ernst, W. Siegel, E. Winterfeldt, R. W. Hoffmann (BASF SE).

* Corresponding author; # Co-first author