Anna is a passionate scientific all-rounder with three majors in biology, chemistry and high school teacher training. Driven by her excitement for knowledge and social contribution, Anna started her PhD in the lab group of Dr. Georg Fritz in the School of Molecular Sciences (UWA) to tackle marine plastic pollution by developing environmentally-friendly, microbial solutions. By combining methods of synthetic biology, biochemistry and microbial ecology, Anna and her research colleagues in the FritzLab aim at identifying and producing efficient enzymes for plastic degradation in marine conditions.

The FritzLab Homepage *** Dr. Georg Fritz

In 2018, Anna completed her B.Sc. in Biology with focus on microbiology at the Philipps University Marburg, Germany. Her B.Sc. thesis and subsequent research assistant position at the Max Planck Institute for terrestrial microbiology in Marburg focused on anaerobic cultivation and strain characterization in the lab group of Prof. Dr. Andreas Brune. Subsequently, Anna studied biology, chemistry, and public education in a teacher training program in Marburg which she completed with the Staatsexamen (M.Sc. equivalent) in October 2021. In the lab of Prof. Dr. Anke Becker at the Synmikro in Marburg, she development a modular CRISPRi-based system for orthogonal and flexible regulation of gene expression in the fast growing bacterium Vibrio natriegens.

Besides working in academia and student supervision, Anna is enthusiastic about science communication. She tries to raise public awareness for environmental crises associated with her research, e.g. by reaching out over radio and social media.

Anna's LinkedIn account *** @AFaber_Research on Twitter 

Anna is a very active member of the Forrest Research Foundation community which she adores for its multifaceted ways to support personal development including scientific education, personal branding, public outreach, social support and dear friendships.

With a passion for multidisciplinarity, holistic problem solving and applicability, Anna's research interests range from synthetic biology and biochemistry over protein engineering to marine microbial ecology. More specifically:

• Extraction of eDNA and metagenome sequencing
• Bioinformatics for the identification of plastic-degrading enzymes
• Engineering microbial solutions to remediate plastic pollution

Moreover, Anna is strongly interested in science communication. She reaches out to the general public to explain the plastic pollution problem and solution approaches. These include:

• Interview on radio shows including the ABC and Noongar Radio
• Podcast guest and producer
• Educational contributions on different social media channels 
• Science Communicator at UWA events, City of Perth Library, and different NGOs