Johan Larsbrink

Johan Larsbrink works as Associate Professor at the Division of Industrial Biotechnology, which he joined in 2015. He obtained his PhD at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in 2013 and afterwards worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. He is a member of the Wallenberg Wood Science Center , a national multi-university center aiming to create novel materials from wood. In 2021, he was elected as a member of the Young Academy of Sweden .

His research revolves around microbial deconstruction of complex biomass, in particular the carbohydrates constituting the main part of plant biomass. The research activities of his group mainly focus on enzyme discovery and biochemical characterization to find and describe novel enzyme activities and/or families, primarily studying carbohydrate-active enzymes. Additionally, the group performs structural biology using X-ray crystallography to solve protein 3-D structures, and genetic modification of carbohydrate-metabolizing bacteria to improve conversion of plant biomass into useful compounds. The research of the group spans from basic science to more applied projects where enzymes are used in generation of new materials, fuels and other products.

In 2019, Johan was awarded the Research Supervisor of the Year Award by the Chalmers Board of Graduate Students.

The research in his group has been supported by grants from several funding agencies, including the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish Energy Agency, Formas, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation.