Diethard Mattanovich is Full Professor of Microbial Strain Design and Head of the Institute of Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology (IMMB) at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU). In 2010 he co-founded the Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (acib) where he directs the research area Microbial Parts and Systems. His research interests are biotechnology of microorganisms, with a focus on synthetic biology for the production of recombinant proteins and metabolites with yeasts, as well as fundamentals of yeast central metabolism. In this field he has published more than 160 papers, 10 book chapters, and 26 patents. In 2011, Diethard Mattanovich received the Dr. Wolfgang Houska Award of the B&C Private Foundation, the most prestigious award for applied research in Austria. He is Vice President of the European Federation of Biotechnology (EFB) and Chairman-elect of the International Yeast Commission (2020-2024).