Research at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Science is structured into four scientific divisions. For further details please see below.

Research divisions

Analysis and Control of Microbial Systems

Contact Person: Olav Vadstein

• Environmental Biotechnology
• Microbial Ecology

Principal Investigators: Ingrid Bakke, Olav Vadstein

Biopolymers and Biomaterials

Contact Person: Berit L. Strand

• Biopolymer-based biomaterials
• Structure–function relationships of polysaccharides
• Chemoenzymatic tailoring of biopolymers
• Properties of biopolymers in dilute, semi-dilute and concentrated solutions
• Polysaccharide-based drug and nucleic acid delivery
• Structures and functions of carbohydrate-active enzymes

Principal Investigators: Berit Løkensgard Strand, Bjørn E. Christensen, Catherine Taylor Nordgård, Finn L. Aachman, Gaston Courtade, Kurt Draget

Food Science

Division Leader: Jørgen Lerfall

• Quality of raw materials and products, including quality changes through processing
• Marine lipids, proteins and peptides, biopolymers, metabolites and pigments
• Shelf life and food chain knowledge
• Stability of marine lipids
• Food safety, food microbiology, biofilms, hygienic design and development of hygienic processing equipment
• Rest raw materials, new raw materials (seaweed) and sustainable production

Principal Investigators: Turid Rustad, Anita Nordeng Jakobsen, Alexander Dikiy, Jørgen Lerfall, Eva Falch, Lisbeth Mehli, Eirin Marie Skjøndal Bar, Ida-Johanne Jensen, Marcin Kurek

Microbial Biotechnology

Division Leader: Trygve Brautaset

• Alginate Biosynthesis
• Bioenergy
• Controlled Expression of Genes and Pathways
• Metabolomics, Fluxomics
• Synthetic Biology
• Systems - Network Biology

Principal Investigators: Eivind Almaas, Martin F. Hohmann-Marriott, Helga Ertesvåg, Per Bruheim, Rahmi Lale, Trygve Brautaset, Johannes Kabisch, Daniel Machado

National research centre

Centre for Digital Life Norway

Centre for Digital Life Norway is a unique transdisciplinary research centre creating the biotechnology for tomorrow. The aim is to evolve new knowledge and methods to create value and address societal challenges.

Strategic initiative on food

NTNU Food Forum

The overall goal of the NTNU Food Forum is to ensure that the food we eat in the future is good for our health, is prepared and consumed in a safe and sustainable way, and protects animal welfare as well. The NTNU Food Forum will also contribute to securing and building knowledge jobs in Norway.

NTNU Food Forum one of the largest multidisciplinary collaborative projects undertaken at NTNU. Technologists, chemists, biologists, sociologists and obesity researchers are just some of the many contributing professionals.