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		Prof. Dr. ir. Marjan De Mey
		E-mail: Marjan.DeMey@UGent.be
		Tel.: +32 9 264 60 28

BIOGRAPHY

Associate Professor - Metabolic Engineering of Microorganisms Centre of Expertise – Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium	2011-present
Visiting Scientist Laboratory of Metabolic Engineering and Bioinformatics Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA	2010-2011
Postdoctoral researcher Centre of Expertise – Industrial Biotechnology and Biocatalysis Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium	2008-2011
Postdoctoral researcher Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology Delft, The Netherlands	2007-2008
PhD. Applied Biological Sciences – Cell and Gene Biotechnology Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ‘Metabolic Modeling and Engineering of Escherichia coli to minimize acetate formation in recombinant DNA-fermentations’	2007
MSc. Bio-engineer Cell and Gene Biotechnology Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium ‘Construction en metabolic characterization of aceA- and aceB-mutants of Escherichia coli’	2002

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Metabolic Engineering, Synthetic Biology and System Biology Targeted and combinatorial genetic engineering, fermentation technology, analytical techniques and mathematical modeling are used to redesign microorganisms to better understand their operation and to make good use of them for production of bio-based materials from renewable resources.
Balancing pathways, Fine-tuning of gene expression The introduction of new genes from e.g. plants into microorganisms enhances their capabilities, but also requires special understanding of measures to be taken to preserve the viability of these microorganisms. Especially in the case of multi-gene, branched and/or poorly understood pathways, transferring such pathways into a heterologous production host often leads to flux imbalances as they typically lack the complex regulatory mechanisms that are vital for efficient operation of these complex pathways.

TEACHING ACTIVITIES

Metabolic Engineering and Modeling of Microorganisms
in MSc. Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

International Summer Course – Biotechnology for a Sustainable Economy
Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.

Supervision and guidance of BSc. and MSc. students and of PhD. candidates

KEY PUBLICATIONS

De Mey M., Ajikumar P.K., Yadav V.G., Lim C.G. and Stephanopoulos G.(2011). Metabolic engineering of terpenoid pathways: An intricate balancing act. Metabolic Engineering, accepted.

De Mey M., Taymaz-Nikerel H., Baert G., Waegeman H., Maertens J., Heijnen J.J. and van Gulik W.M. (2010). Catching prompt metabolite dynamics of E. coli with the BioScope at oxygen rich conditions. Metabolic Engineering, 12:477-487.

De Mey, M., Maertens, J., Boogmans, S., Soetaert, W.K., Vandamme, E.J., Cunin, R. and Foulquié-Moreno, M.R. (2010). Promoter knock-in: a novel rational method for the fine tuning of genes. BMC Biotechnology, 10:26.

Taymaz-Nikerel H., De Mey M., Ras C., ten Pierick A., Seifar R.M., van Dam J.C., Heijnen J.J. and van Gulik W.M. (2009). Development and application of a differential method for reliable metabolome analysis in Escherichia coli. Analytical Biochemistry, 386, 9-19.

De Mey, M., Maertens, J., Lequeux, G.J., Soetaert, W.K. and Vandamme, E.J. (2007). Construction and model-based analysis of a promoter library for E. coli: an indispensable tool for metabolic engineering. BMC Biotechnology, 7, 34.