Yeastcell

YEASTCELL is an international research training project of 13 partners from 8 different countries in the area of yeast biotechnology. Yeasts are unicellular fungi and already used in many sectors of biotechnology for making products such as beverages, foods, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. The research in this project aims to facilitate the development of new products and processes from different species of yeast. This will be done by first improving our understanding of the basic cellular processes and by then using that knowledge to manipulate or modulate the yeast to enable it carry out the desired function. Two applications of particular interest in YEASTCELL are the use of yeasts to convert cheap raw materials or waste products to higher value products and the development of methods to improve our ability to scale-up production from laboratory to commercial scale. Eleven PhD students will work on collaborative research projects and they will also participate in a dedicated training programme that includes both scientific and more general aspects. In particular, comprehensive training is provided in skills relevant for the commercial biotechnology sector. The project is funded by the European Union FP7 Marie Curie Programme and runs from September 2013 to  August 2017.