Prof. Dr. Ana I. Benítez-Mateos

Academic Career and Research Areas

Prof. Benítez-Mateos (*1991) conducts research on sustainable biocatalysis for the synthesis of natural products with relevance as pharmaceuticals, food additives, and agrochemicals. Her group aims to develop highly stable and efficient enzymatic cascades by integrating approaches from bioengineering, enzyme immobilization, and (flow) chemistry. A particular emphasis of her laboratory is on elucidating the molecular mechanisms of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and their applications in biotechnology and biocatalysis.

Prof. Benítez-Mateos studied Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology (M.Sc.) at the University of Seville (Spain). After a short period in industry, she completed her PhD at CICbiomaGUNE in Spain (2016-2019) with Prof. F. López-Gallego. She then joined the University of Nottingham (UK) as a Postdoctoral Fellow, and later the University of Bern (Switzerland) with Prof. F. Paradisi. In 2023, she initiated her independent career as SNSF Ambizione Group Leader at ETH Zürich. She was appointed Tenure Track Assistant Professor at TUM in 2025.

Awards

• Nature Awards: Inspriring Women in Science Shortlist (2024)
• Ambizione Grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (2023)
• SCS-Metrohm Award for the Best Oral Presentation at the SCS Fall Meeting (2023)
• Extraordinary Doctorate Prize of the UPV/EHU (2022)
• SELF Postdoctoral Fellowship of the University of Bern (2020)