Enzyme Discovery and Design

Group Members

Edda Marie Rainer

Edda is a researcher in the Biological Chemistry and Bioinformatics (BCB) group at UiT, with a fascination for enzymatic and biological processes in cold environments. After completing her Master's in Biotechnology at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, she relocated to Tromsø for her doctoral studies. In her PhD thesis, titled "Response and resilience of the microbial methane filter to ecosystem changes in Arctic peatlands", she investigated the effects of warming and grazing on methane-oxidizing bacterial communities in Svalbard. Since 2019, she has progressed from a research technician to a researcher, contributing to various projects within the enzyme discovery and design group. Currently, she leads several work packages in the ongoing innovation projects UltraZyme and MarRec. Additionally, she serves as the main supervisor for several master's students at the Department of Chemistry. To maintain a healthy work-life balance, Edda has a strong passion for a variety of mountain activities. She can often be found skiing, climbing, hiking, or biking amidst the beautiful landscapes of Northern Norway. 

For her publication record and CV, find Edda on ResearchGate and LinkedIn. 

Atle Noralf Larsen 

Atle is a senior scientist working in the field of Biotechnology/enzyme technology. He completed his PhD on cold-adapted proteinases in 2005 at the UiT – The Arctic University of Norway. He then worked as a post-doc at the Norwegian College of Fishery Science at UiT for 3 years in the field of molecular immunology to combat viral and bacterial diseases in Atlantic cod farming, having a lead role in the FUGE financed project (2007-2011) Bacterial flagellin: a novel adjuvant for vaccine strategies. He then (2008-2013) worked as a thematic group leader in the enzyme group at the SFI MabCent – Centre on Marine Bioactives and Drug Discovery where his passion for working with nucleases and polymerases arose. After that he has been the project leader or had lead roles in several innovation driven projects at the Research Council of Norway (OptiZyme, MDxPol and MarSynth). In these projects enzymes from the marine Arctic and Subarctic region have been discovered and developed for use in molecular and synthetic biology and molecular diagnostics. He has also led a multitude of smaller innovation projects both at the RCN, Mabit and at UiT. Currently he leads or has lead roles in UltraZyme and AdEPT which involves developing enzymatic tools and technology for usage in molecular viral diagnostics and RNA therapeutics. He also leads the upcoming MarRec project financed by Mabit. He has received the innovation price at UiT in 2018 for his innovative research on DNA polymerases. He has several granted patents on nucleotide metabolizing enzymes including DNA polymerases and nucleases, and has the last decade contributed to six license agreements with biotech industry resulting in several successfully commercialized enzymes within molecular biology and diagnostics.

His research has led to the following products on the market:

Greta Daae Sandsdalen 

Greta Daae Sandsdalen is a researcher and PhD student at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, where she splits her time between advancing her doctoral studies and contributing to innovative research projects. She holds a Master's degree in Science Education (Grades 8-13) from UiT, where she completed her thesis under the supervision of Professor Peik Haugen. Her Master's research focused on developing the PsyXpress expression system through expression plasmid design. Greta embarked on her PhD journey in 2019 under the guidance of Professor Hanna-Kirsti Schøder Leiros at the Department of Chemistry, UiT. Her doctoral research is part of the FISH&CRISPR project, aiming to discover and characterize novel CRISPR-Cas enzymes for genome editing at low temperatures.  In 2024, Greta began her role as a researcher at the Department of Chemistry, UiT. She collaborates with ArcticZymes and SINTEF on the AdEPT project. The primary objective of AdEPT is to develop improved enzyme prototypes and solutions for sustainable, cost-effective, and high-quality biomanufacturing of RNA vaccines and RNA therapeutics.
 

Felix Schwab

Felix is our Research Technician with a strong foundation in microbiology and molecular biology. He completed his Master's degree in Biology at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, where he focused on comparative enzyme studies and bioprocessing procedures, contributing to the Characterization of  "Seasonal dynamics in the number and composition of coliform bacteria in drinking water reservoirs" (2021). Moving to Tromsø in 2022, he enriched his academic training by practical experience at ArcticZymes AS, especially in enzyme discovery and data management ("Using nucleolytic toxins as restriction enzymes enables new RNA applications", 2024). Felix joined the group in 2024, managing the production and characterization of enzymes, genetic engineering, and laboratory equipment.
When not in the laboratory, Felix can be found creating music as a percussionist, playing board games or out on tour.
 

Nanna Jensen 

Nanna is from Asker, Norway and has a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry with a specialization in biological chemistry from The Arctic University of Norway (UiT). She is currently a second-year Master’s student at UiT, where she is involved in a project with the Enzyme Discovery and Design group. Her research focuses on investigating the specificity of two marine nucleases, which involves optimizing the expression and purification, as well as characterizing these enzymes.
Outside the lab, Nanna enjoys outdoor activities such as skiing and hiking 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Marius Czech 

I am Marius Czech, and I come from Oestrich-Winkel, Germany. I completed my Bachelor's degree in Chemistry at the Technical University of Nuremberg, and I am currently a second-year Master's student at the University of Tromsø (UIT), specializing in Molecular Science. I joined the ED&D research group to work on my Master's thesis, where I am investigating the effect he effect of different DNA binding proteins on the processivity of DNA polymerases.