During her Ph.D., Manuela Gorgel has studied electrically conductive nanowires from the bacterium Shewanella oneidensis. Nanowires are long natural filaments that can transfer electrons and electricity between bacteria and from one bacterium to solid and often toxic metals, like iron, manganese and uranium. These filaments possess properties similar to synthetic nanocables, but will be cheaper to produce, be less toxic and can presumably be regulated. Therefore, they are valid research targets in nanotechnology and environmental sciences.

In her Ph.D., Manuela Gorgel analyzed what these filaments are made of and how they look at a molecular level. These new findings contribute to the understanding of a completely new biological phenomenon that offers huge potential for the application in energy conservation and bioremediation processes.

The PhD degree was completed at the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Science and Technology, Aarhus University.

This résumé is prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Friday 16 January 2015 at 13.15
Place: Building 1253 Room 317, William Scharff, Lake Side Auditorium, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus
Title of dissertation: Crystallographic and Electron Microscopy Studies on Electrically Conductive Nanowires from Shewanella oneidensis
Contact information: Manuela Gorgel, e-mail: manuela@mbg.au.dk, tel.: +45 24952869
Members of the assessment committee:
EMBL Group Leader Dr. Thomas Schneider, EMBL Hamburg, DESY, Hamburg, Germany
Associate Professor Dr. Birgitte Kallipolitis, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
Associate Professor Charlotte Rohde Knudsen (chair), Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Main supervisor:
Professor Dr. Poul Nissen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Co-supervisor:
Associate Professor Dr. Thomas Boesen, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English