Dr. Thomas Schwander

Education and Continuing education

Education

• Doctor of Natural Sciences (Dr. rer. nat.) / Biochemistry
  Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology
  11 / 2014 - 01 / 2018
• Master of Sciences (M.Sc.) / Microbiology and Immunology
  ETH Zurich
  09 / 2012 - 04 / 2014
• Bachelor of Sciences (B.Sc.) / Biology (chemical major)
  ETH Zurich
  09 / 2009 - 10 / 2012

Network

ORCID digital identifier

ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9201-3017

Social media

LinkedIn

Projects

• Sustainable hyaluronic acid production from lignocellulosic biomass / Team member / ongoing
• National Competence Center of Research Catalysis / Deputy project leader / ongoing
• Microbial Epimerases: A Toolbox for the Synthesis of Novel Peptide-Based Drugs / Team member / completed

Publications

Articles in scientific journal, peer-reviewed

• Morette, L. et al. (2026) 'Structural and biochemical insights into an anthocyanin-related glutathione transferase from bilberry and its inhibition by quercetin', International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 376(153396). doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2026.153396.
• Patsch, D. et al. (2024) 'Enriching productive mutational paths accelerates enzyme evolution', Nature Chemical Biology, 20(12), pp. 1662–1669. doi: 10.1038/s41589-024-01712-3.
• Eichenberger, M. et al. (2023) 'The catalytic role of glutathione transferases in heterologous anthocyanin biosynthesis', Nature Catalysis, 6(10), pp. 927–938. doi: 10.1038/s41929-023-01018-y.

Publications before appointment at the ZHAW

• Ammonia-oxidizing archaea use the most energy-efficient aerobic pathway for CO2 fixation. PNAS (2014)
• A synthetic pathway for the fixation of carbon dioxide in vitro. Science (2016)
• Molecular Basis for Converting (2S)-Methylsuccinyl-CoA Dehydrogenase into an Oxidase. Molecules (2018)
• Structural basis for substrate specificity of methylsuccinyl-CoA dehydrogenase, an unusual member of the acyl-CoA dehydrogenase family. JBC (2018)
• Light-powered CO2 fixation in a chloroplast mimic with natural and synthetic parts. Science (2020)
• Exploring alternative pathways for the in vitro establishment of the HOPAC cycle for synthetic CO 2 fixation. Science Advances (2023)

go back