Sebastian Lücker explores the potential applications of novel nitrifiers in protecting our clean water supply - a pressing concern of our time. As professor of applied and environmental microbiology, Lücker focuses on the development and application of molecular, cultivation-independent methods to study environmentally relevant microorganisms. With his team, Lücker combines sophisticated enrichment techniques and metagenomics to understand the physiological potential of complex microbial communities, their composition, and the interactions of the microorganisms present.
With my current and future research, I hope to contribute to making drinking water and wastewater treatment more reliable and sustainable, especially concerning nitrogen removal to reduce environmental pollution and adverse effects on human health.
About Sebastian Lücker
Dr Sebastian Lücker (1975, Munich) began his academic career studying Biology at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. He continued his studies at the University of Vienna, Austria to conduct his doctoral research. In 2004, he completed his PhD thesis Exploring the ecology and genomics of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria.
After obtaining his PhD, Sebastian Lücker continued working as postdoctoral fellow and project leader at the University of Vienna. In 2014, he joined the Department of Microbiology at Radboud University as Radboud Excellence Fellow. He stayed at Radboud University and started as Tenure Track assistant professor in 2016, received Tenure in 2020, and was promoted to associate professor in 2022.
During his career, Lücker received various rewards and grants, such as the Tom Brock Young Postdoctoral Award (ISME), the Van Leeuwenhoek Award (KNVM), as well as the VENI grant in 2015 and the VIDI grant in 2018.