Two new professors

Dr René Nachtsheim (42) has taken over the professorship for Food Sensory Science and Product Development in the Nutritional, Food and Consumer Sciences department at Fulda University of Applied Sciences.

Growing up in a family of bakers, he developed a passion for the production of food and its sensory properties at an early age. He studied Nutritional, Food and Consumer Sciences at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen and subsequently received an academic scholarship from the Dr Rainer Wild Foundation. His doctoral degree at the Department of Ecotrophology combined the topics of nutrition, sensory science and product development and was honoured with the Young Sensory Scientist Award from the German Society for Sensory Science.

He managed professional appointments at the University of Applied Sciences Wiener Neustadt and in the food industry, where he worked at Döhler in the areas of sensory analysis, market research and product management.

In Fulda, René Nachtsheim would like to further develop applied sensor technology and raise the university's profile as a centre of excellence for modern sensor technology and product development research. His research focus lies in the areas of co-creation, sensory training courses and multisensory perception. In his private life, he is a passionate American football fan and played in the German Football League for many years.

Dr Torsten Fauth (46) joins the Department of Food Technology as Professor of Applied Biotechnology, in particular Cell Culture Technology.

As a group leader at the start-up enterprise Akribion Therapeutics, he played a key role in the development of a new type of CRISPR/Cas gene scissors for precision oncology. Prior to that, he held various positions at BRAIN Biotech AG, one of Europe's leading pioneers in industrial biotechnology, where he drove forward research projects with partners from the dermocosmetics and food industries, as well as with clinical institutes. His specialisation was the research of ion channels and receptors of the skin and the development of innovative cell culture technologies.

Torsten Fauth studied biology at the University of Ulm, followed by a research stay at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (USA). He then obtained his doctorate at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich on the topic of epigenetic gene regulation. His research results have been published many times and protected by patent applications.

Caption: Professor Dr Torsten Fauth (left) and Professor Dr René Nachtsheim