Konrad Meister, Ph.D.

What courses would you recommend for students to have taken prior to working in your laboratory?

General Chemistry and Biochemistry would be great but if you are motivated then we will find a project that fits your skillset.

How many hours per week do you expect a student to spend in the laboratory per research credit and does the time have to be a set schedule?

We typically work flexible hours and so will you . Undergraduates I employ usually work 10-20h/week but it is negotiable.

Ideally, for what length of time would a student research in your laboratory to achieve a meaningful research experience?

We prefer a commitment of two semesters.

2015: Ph.D. – Physical Chemistry | Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany 

2013: Certified Intercultural Engineer | University Bochum, Germany 

2009: M.S. – Biochemistry | Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany 

2007: B.S. – Biochemistry | Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany 

My research is inspired by nature and I like to ask questions like “Why won’t freeze fish in Antarctica?” or “Why can bacteria make ice so well?” and then try to investigate the molecular reasons behind it using a variety of biochemical and biophysical tools.

Renzer, G., de Almeida Ribeiro, I., Guo, H. B., Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J., Berry, R. J., Bonn, M., Molinero, V., & Meister, K.. Hierarchical assembly and environmental enhancement of bacterial ice nucleators. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 121(43), e2409283121. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2409283121. (2024)

J. Krom, K. Meister, T. A. Vilgis. Simple Method to Assess Foam Structure and Stability using Hydrophobin and BSA as Model Systems. ChemPhysChem, 25, e202400050. https://doi.org/10.1002/cphc.202400050.  (2024)

Wieland, F., Bothen, N., Schwidetzky, R., Seifried, T. M., Bieber, P., Pöschl, U., Meister, K., Bonn, M., Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J., and Grothe, H.: Aggregation of ice-nucleating macromolecules from Betula pendula pollen determines ice nucleation efficiency, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-752. (2024)

Schwidetzky, R., de Almeida Ribeiro, I., Bothen, N., Backes, A. T., DeVries, A. L., Bonn, M., Fröhlich-Nowoisky, J., Molinero, V., & Meister, K.. Functional aggregation of cell-free proteins enables fungal ice nucleation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(46), e2303243120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2303243120. (2023)

D. Glikman, N.G. Rey, M. Richert, K. Meister, B. Braunschweig, pH effects on the molecular structure and charging state of β-Escin biosurfactants at the air-water interface, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 607, 1754-1761, (2022)

R. Schwidetzky, P. Sudera, A.T. Backes, U. Pöschl, M. Bonn, J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky, K. Meister, Membranes Are Decisive for Maximum Freezing Efficiency of Bacterial Ice Nucleators, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 12, 10783-10787, (2021)
Y. Sun, G. Giubertoni, H. J. Bakker, J. Liu, M. Wagner, D. Y. W. Ng, A. L. Devries, K. Meister, Disaccharide Residues are Required for Native Antifreeze Glycoprotein Activity, Biomacromolecules, 22, 6, 2595–2603, (2021)

M. Lukas, R. Schwidetzky, A. T. Kunert, E.H.G. Backus, U. Pöschl, J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky, M. Bonn, K. Meister, Ice Nucleation Protein Activity Does Not Directly Correlate With Enhanced Water Ordering at Low Temperatures, The Journal of the Physical Chemical Letters, 12, 218-223, (2021)

R. Schwidetzky, M. Lukas, A. Yazade Yar, A. T. Kunert, M. Bonn, U. Pöschl, K. Domke, Fröhlich-Nowoisky, T. Koop, Y. Nagata, K. Meister, Specific Ion-Protein Interactions Influence Bacterial Ice Nucleation, E, Chemistry–A European Journal, 27, 26, 7315-7466, (2021)

R. Schwidetzky, Y. Sun, J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky, A. T. Kunert, M. Bonn, K. Meister, Ice Nucleation Activity of Perfluorinated Organic Acids, The Journal of the Physical Chemical Letters, 12, 3431-3435, (2021)

R. Schwidetzky, A. T. Kunert, M. Bonn, U. Pöschl, H. Ramlov, A. L. DeVries, J. Fröhlich-Nowoisky, K. Meister, Inhibition of Bacterial Ice Nucleators is Not an Intrinsic Property of Antifreeze Proteins, The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 124, 24, (2020)

2021-2024

• Unraveling the Structure and Mode of Action of Fungal Ice Nucleators – NSF

2021-2023

• From Understanding Biological Antifreeze to Green Gas Hydrate Inhibitors – ACS Petroleum Research Fund