GASB TEAM
German Association for Synthetic Biology (GASB)
Steering CommitteeÂ
The steering committee is GASB’s official representation and is annually elected through the members meeting. As the main operational board, the steering committee ensures the proper function of the association and represents GASB externally.
Please contact each individual member of the steering committee directly with your questions or use our contact form for general requests.
We are looking forward to getting in touch with you! You can contact us in German or English!

Florian Hänsel
Head of Steering
Florian studied Biology and Bioengineering in Düsseldorf and London and is currently pursuing a PhD in Synthetic Microbiology at the CEPLAS Cluster of Excellence in Düsseldorf. He joined GASB in 2022 and has since been deeply involved at the interface of science, policy, and innovation governance, leading the association’s policy work for two years. As President of GASB, Florian is committed to strengthening the community and advancing a responsible synthetic biology ecosystem across academia, industry, and policy.

Dominic Schirmer
Vice Head of Steering
Dominic is the current Vice-Head of Steering at GASB. He is a PhD student at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and a member of the CEPLAS Excellence Cluster on Plant Science. His research focuses on the rational engineering of plant promoters. With a strong interest in research translation, he joined GASB in 2025 to engage with the synthetic biology industry alongside his PhD work. Through his role at GASB, Dominic aims to help drive synthetic biology toward tangible societal impact.

Benedikt Wiebach
Treasurer
Benedikt joined GASB in 2024 and was quickly drawn in by the community’s spirit of creativity and collaboration. Having first studied Mechatronics before completing a Master’s degree in Bioinformatics, he sees synthetic biology as a fascinating form of engineering. As part of the industry team, he helped organize the SynBioReactor in 2025 and 26. As Treasurer, he’s excited to support GASB’s continued growth and to help the association foster future innovations in the field.

Nikita Edel
Head of Operations

Lena Maria Hümmler
Head of Academia
Lena is a PhD student focusing on synthetic microbiology and metabolic engineering in the Lindlich Lab at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Her involvement began after the GCSB 2024. As Officer of Scientific Collaboration, Lena is responsible for communication with academic partners as well as coordinating the organization of academic events.
Active MembersÂ
Whether it is through organizing the next conference, panel discussion or realizing their own project ideas, the active members of GASB leave their footprints on the road to establishing a SynBio community in Germany. In collaboration with small interdisciplinary teams our active members support us realizing our events and projects. Do you want to contribute or are you just curious what possibilities lie ahead? Become Active!
Project Leaders

Jan Kalkowski
Officer for Education
SynBio Masteratlas

Michael Spädt
Officer for Representation
Website, Newsletter, Social Media
Active in GASB

Peter Yudichev
Industry

Anna Tichá
Politics
Steering Committee Alumni
Nicolas Krink
Anne Löchner
Daniel Hürtgen
Max Mundt
Luis Carreira
Katrin Messerschmidt
Robert Grießmann
Anna Trodler
Simon Kelterborn
Kasia Lipinska
Svenja Vinke
Fabian Rohden
Jakob Schweizer
René Inckemann
Jonathan Funk
Hendrik Cooper
Vinca Seiler
Alexander Pattberg
Alexander Niederau
Jillian Hoffmann
Jan Kalkowski
Janine Wanke
Charlotte Desczyk
Marwan Kaufmann
Michael Spädt
Christian Rauch
Max Hoffmann-Becking
Andrea Aquize
Michael Burgis
Cedric Brinkmann
Louis Schanzmann
Carolina Elizondo
Raoul Polder
