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Cyterra - Year One

Europe/Berlin
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A year ago Cyterra was a plan, a handful of enzymes and a lot of unanswered questions. To mark the first birthday we are doing the thing we would want to attend ourselves: an afternoon of good science, followed by an honest evening about what it actually takes to build a company around it.

Six speakers, from directed evolution and computational enzyme design to cell-free biosystems, protein immobilisation and the unglamorous realities of startup life. The talks are short, the coffee break is long enough to matter, and the discussion is the point.

Why come

  • Six talks, one afternoon. Bernhard Hauer (JGU Mainz & IBWF), Ana Benitez-Mateos (TU Munich), Adrian Bunzel (MPI Marburg), David Roura Padrosa (inSEIT), Rivelino Montenegro (serial entrepreneur) and Andreas Schneider (Cyterra) — a deliberately mixed line-up of academia, industry and people who have done both.
  • See the lab. We open the doors for a tour, including the Cyterra SNIF test — bring your nose.
  • The part nobody puts on a slide. "Making money with directed evolution" and "Startup Life: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly… and the Awesome!" are true insights into industry and the start-up life cycle.
  • Stay for the evening. Apéro from 17:30, buffet and birthday toast from 18:30, and a party for anyone still standing.

Programme

  • 13:00 — Doors open, registration and coffee
  • 13:30 — Welcome: Cyterra, year one · Dr. Andreas Schneider
  • 13:50 — Making money with directed evolution · Prof. Bernhard Hauer
  • 14:25 — Cell-free biosystems for sustainable biocatalysis · Prof. Ana Benitez-Mateos
  • 14:50 — Coffee, lab tour and the Cyterra SNIF test
  • 15:30 — Creating enzymes by computational design and directed evolution · Dr. Adrian Bunzel
  • 15:55 — Rethinking protein immobilisation: a data-driven approach · Dr. David Roura Padrosa
  • 16:20 — Startup life: the good, the bad, the ugly… and the awesome! · Dr. Rivelino Montenegro
  • 17:00 — Closing remarks and group photo
  • 17:30 — Apéro and networking
  • 18:30 — Buffet, birthday toast — and the party

Practical details

  • When: Friday, 9 October 2026, 13:00 until late
  • Where: Biozentrum 1 (BZM 1), Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 17, 55128 Mainz
  • Language: English, talks and discussion
  • Cost: Free of charge — registration required
  • Register by: 25 September 2026. Places are limited.

Registration

Choose whether you are joining the symposium, the evening, or both, and register each guest by name so we can plan seats and catering. Colleagues are welcome. Tell us about dietary requirements while you register and the kitchen will know in good time.

We look forward to seeing you in Mainz.