Minerva’s daughters harness biocatalysis for a sustainable future
Project leader Dr. Mariko Teshima is overseeing the setup and safety of the new biolab at the MPI
Since February 2025, Dr. Mariko Teshima has been working at our institute as Project Leader in Biocatalysis, responsible for the new S1 biolab. The 36-year-old came to Germany from Japan as a young girl with her parents and went to school in Unterschleißheim near Munich. She studied Molecular Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich and has just completed her doctorate.
In this interview, she talks about why she finds it exciting to help establish the new laboratory and what challenges she encountered along the way.
What brought you here? Tell us about your journey to the Kohlenforschung!
Mariko Teshima: I discovered the job advertisement for the position as project leader in biocatalysis and found it very exciting to take on the challenge of setting up a new laboratory at a Max Planck Institute. This is a wonderful and unique opportunity to do pioneering work. The precise research focus of the lab was left open, but the ad mentioned that experience in working with CO₂ would be advantageous. This caught my attention, as I saw the potential to combine my previous experience in biocatalysis and protein engineering for applied biotechnology and sustainability with my strong interest in the emerging field of CO₂ utilization. I was also attracted by the opportunity to work with talented chemists and gain new inspiration from that exchange. I wanted to explore new possibilities in catalysis and combine the rapidly growing insights from biocatalysis with those from organocatalysis and organic chemistry in order to make new discoveries.
What does your typical working day at the institute look like?
Mariko: During my first months here, I was intensively preparing the setup and operation of the new laboratory. Working in an S1 lab is subject to German genetic engineering law. I had to familiarize myself thoroughly with various laws, regulations, and official guidelines, which required good German skills since they are not available in English. I was also in close contact with authorities and many different units, and I had to establish numerous processes and systems for the organization of the biolab at the institute. For this, I am very grateful to my colleagues in the biolab and the safety department. There used to be a biolab under Professor Reetz with excellent equipment for high-throughput screening, but it had long been dismantled. The new biolab was therefore a completely new project – something that Professor Ritter had been dreaming of for years. About three months ago, we received the official authorization to use the laboratory, and since then I have also been coordinating the work of colleagues from the Ritter and List groups in these facilities. This requires instruction, documentation of genetic engineering work, and expertise to ensure the high safety standards demanded in Germany. In the near future, I will also be working more directly in the lab myself, focusing on enzyme screening, de novo enzyme design, enzyme engineering, and biotransformations.
What are your professional goals?
Mariko: First of all, I want to fulfill my role as project leader to the best of my ability and establish the lab’s operation successfully. My PhD project shaped me deeply as a scientist and sparked a strong desire in me to discover sustainable technologies that benefit the environment. In Professor List’s department, I am involved in projects that address exactly this. It would be wonderful if my work could make a meaningful contribution to climate protection. This feeling was reinforced last summer when I visited my home country with its beautiful landscapes and already witnessed noticeable effects of climate change and the looming loss of biodiversity. At the same time, I would like to emphasize that we should not rely on the hope that technological developments alone will one day save the world from global warming. More people in all countries should become aware of their ecological footprint.
What influenced your decision to pursue a career in science? Did you have a role model?
Mariko: I don’t have one single role model for everything, but several role models for different aspects. My mother, who is a pianist, is a role model for me in terms of diligence, discipline, and dedication. As a child I often watched her practice, and her way of working shaped me deeply – so much so that I originally planned to study music myself. After I failed the entrance exam in violin, the world initially turned black and white for me. During that period, however, several experiences made me rethink and motivated me to dedicate myself to people and society. Natural sciences became my solution – combining this wish with my interests and strengths. My father, a physicist and director at a Max Planck Institute, certainly sparked my interest in science. As a child I often visited science museums and exhibitions with him. I remember the many photos of the universe in his study and our math quizzes during car rides. Through him, I also realized that Max Planck Institutes provide an excellent environment for scientific work. A third person I would count among my role models is Professor Shinya Yamanaka, stem cell researcher and Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine in 2012. Yamanaka not only discovered and established an entirely new research field, but he is also a wonderful personality – down-to-earth and responsible. He is modest and shows that researchers do not know everything; the more they study, the more they realize that their work is just one link in the chain of knowledge. This attitude – to critically reflect on one’s own work and to continuously engage with new scientific questions and challenges – has shaped me since the beginning of my academic career.
What has been the most difficult step so far?
Mariko: One of the greatest challenges was certainly moving to Germany. I was only 15 when my parents relocated here. Supported by my grandparents, who often traveled more than an hour by train, I stayed behind in Japan for a semester in order to finish junior high school. In Germany, the first months at school were tough. Since I did not yet speak German well, the only subject I could follow properly was mathematics. Even today, not everything is easy. For example, my responsibilities at the institute regularly present new challenges. There are many things to organize, and I cannot rely on predecessors or existing structures. On the one hand, this is exciting and gives me great freedom – but on the other hand, it also means a great deal of responsibility.
What advice would you give to young girls interested in working in a scientific environment?
Mariko: I always think: follow your curiosity and passion, and then simply give it a try. That’s what I do. What is there to lose? If the path turns out not to be the right one, you can always switch topics or change direction. I recommend not waiting but having the courage to follow your passion now, with the mindset: “Today I am the youngest …” In some research areas, there are still significantly more men, and this can shape the group dynamics. But in my opinion, women can and should bring their own values and perspectives without feeling pressured to conform. For example, it is pointless to think that your male colleagues can spend much longer hours in the lab than you can. Everyone has different strengths, and the more diverse the members of a group are, the more the group can benefit from this diversity.
Does research need to change in order for women to work even more equally?
Mariko: There are already many highly qualified women who sometimes decide against a career in research because they believe it cannot be reconciled with family life. It is a pity when research and the labor market “lose” such talented individuals. I don’t know yet what my own future will look like, but I hope society will continue to develop in a way that allows women to want and to do everything that men can do.
