Susanne Kleff

Project Manager & Senior Scientist, Metabolic Engineering

Dr. Susanne Kleff earned both a master’s degree and PhD in Biology from the University of Cologne–Germany. Her studies focused on characterizing recombination enzymes and genes from Bacteriophage T4 and yeast. At the State University in New York at Stony Brook, Susanne completed her postdoc fellowship, identifying and cloning the first histone acetyltransferase in yeast. Later at Michigan State University, Susanne assisted Dr. McCormick and analyzed the expression of genes involved in carcinogenesis and apoptosis in a human fibroblastic cell line.

Susanne’s passion for—and commitment to—the development of sustainable technologies is an asset to MSUBI’s leadership team. As Project Manager and Senior Scientist at the Lansing plant, her extensive experience is instrumental in the development of unconventional organisms as well as fermentation and recovery processes for C4-dicarboxylic acids and their successful demonstration at pilot scale. Within MSUBI’s derisking operations—where she has worked with companies such as Genomatica and OPX, Susanne plays a pivotal role in initial technology transfers and scale-ups.

Outside her role at MSUBI, Susanne has followed her great passion and enthusiasm for applied microbiology and environmental stewardship as an active member of the Society for Industrial Microbiology, where she currently serves as Chair for the Committee on International Outreach.