Hai He Receives the M4C Explorer Award 2025
Dr. Hai He has been awarded the M4C Explorer Award 2025 from the M4C “Microbes for Climate” Excellence Cluster initiative for his excellent research on enzyme flexibility and metabolic network evolution. The award was presented at the SYNMIKRO Annual Conference on April 23rd in Marburg.
Dr. He’s work, conducted within the SYNMIKRO Network and the research group of Prof. Tobias Erb at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, revealed a surprising plasticity of bacterial metabolism in evolution using the model microbe E. coli.
While developing a new approach in reinventing nature’s most prominent CO2-fixing enzyme, RubisCO, Hai He identified several hidden activities of the enzyme succinate semialdehyde dehydrogenase. His detailed analysis of the underlying mechanisms provided a detailed snapshot of evolution at work and an integrative picture of the underlying changes in the genetic and metabolic networks within the bacteria (Press Article).
`Dr. He’s discovery shows that E. coli can adapt to metabolic roadblocks and create new specificity in its native enzymes`, said Prof. Dr. Victor Sourjik at the award presentation. `This work broadens our understanding of metabolic network evolution`.
`During my research I was amazed by the fundamental intrinsic flexibility of metabolism. In Synthetic Biology, we want to create something new-to-nature - but we always learn from Nature `, said Hai He. `I am very grateful for the award that highlights this significance and provides me with support to further explore the enzymatic efficiency of carbon fixation`.
The €10,000 prize was sponsored by the Microcosm Earth Center (MEC). The M4C Explorer Award recognizes outstanding postdoctoral researchers in Marburg whose work is related to the M4C initiative. The MEC is a collaboration between the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and Philipps-Universität Marburg, supported by the Max Planck Society and the State of Hesse. The prize money can be used flexibly for work and travel expenses related to the research project.
