With the Henriette Herz Scouting Program, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation offers researchers the opportunity to take responsibility for recruiting talented, international junior researchers for their own research groups. Prof. Tobias Gulder from TU Dresden has now been appointed as a Henriette Heart Scout and is going to recruit three young talents in the field of biochemistry and natural products chemistry, particularly from Eastern Europe and South America, for a research stay at his group.

Tobias Gulder has been Professor of Technical Biochemistry at TU Dresden since 2019. With his research group, he works in the field of biomolecular natural product chemistry, where he focuses on all aspects of microbial natural products - from the targeted discovery of new compounds using bioinformatics techniques and synthetic biology methods to the elucidation of biosynthetic pathways and the biocatalytic application of biosynthetic enzymes in the synthesis of complex molecules and in technical applications. In his field of research, Tobias Gulder has established an excellent reputation both nationally and internationally, which is reflected in numerous high-ranking publications, collaborations and conference invitations.

Introduced in 2020, the Henriette Herz Program is specifically targeting researchers who have a strong international network in order to attract excellent Humboldt Research Fellows for whom an application to the Humboldt Foundation and a research stay in Germany have not previously been an option. The aim is to increase the subject and regional diversity in the Humboldt Research Fellowship Program, as well as the proportion of female fellows. To this end, up to 40 scouts are selected annually by the Humboldt Foundation in a competitive peer-review process.

Tobias Gulder is now one of them. This gives him the opportunity to independently identify young researchers abroad and propose them to the foundation for funding: "From my experience with (postdoc) applications from abroad, most candidates come from Central European countries, India or China. My goal is therefore to make a significant contribution to diversifying the fellowship program with respect to underrepresented countries. Building on our established international networks, we particularly want to attract people from Eastern Europe and South America. I am deeply impressed by the exceptional scientific training, publication record, scientific creativity, enthusiasm, and commitment of many researchers from these countries. The Henriette Herz Scouting Program now gives me the opportunity to specifically support the careers of such excellent researchers and to lay the foundation for them to take up top positions in science and politics in their home countries. For our working group, this funding instrument not only offers the opportunity to integrate creative new ideas from these excellent young minds, but also to expand our international networks and relationships comprehensively and sustainably."

Media inquiries:
Prof. Tobias Gulder
Technical Biochemistry
Tel.: +49 351 463-34424