Christine Lang

Christine Lang (born December 23, 1957, in Bochum, West Germany) is a German microbiologist and entrepreneur. She is an adjunct professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and teaches genetics in biotechnology at the Technical University of Berlin.

Life and work
Lang was raised in Bochum, West Germany, with four brothers. She studied biology from 1976 to 1981 at the Ruhr University Bochum and the University of Sussex. In 1985, she obtained a Dr. rer. nat. in biology in Bochum on the molecular genetics of fungi, with her thesis entitled "Extrachromosomal in vitro genetics in fungi: chondriome vectors in yeasts." She then worked in industrial research at the Hüls Chemie research center (now Marl Chemical Plant). In 1993 she moved to the Technical University of Berlin and habilitated in the field of microbiology and molecular genetics under the supervision of Ulf Stahl. At the TU Berlin she is an adjunct professor of microbiology and molecular genetics and teaches genetics in biotechnology.

In 2001 Lang and Ulf Stahl founded Organobalance GmbH, a company specializing in microbial strain development, which has been part of the Danish Novozymes A / S since September 2016. As of July 1, 2018, Lang gave up her long-term position as managing director of Organobalance Novozymes Berlin.

In 2010, together with Bernd Wegener, she founded Organobalance Medical AG, now Belano Medical AG. In 2019, she was appointed to the Management Board with the responsibility for research and development. The company has been cooperating with Henkel Germany and the Müller retail store since 2021. Belano Medical AG filed for insolvency in mid-November 2023. The product line and brands will be continued by Rigix GmbH, based in Ronnenberg near Hanover.

Awards and honors (selection)

 * Darboven IDEE Award (2nd place), 2003
 * Berlin Entrepreneur of the Year (2nd place), 2008
 * Journal of Dental Research Cover of the Year Award (1st place for innovative work and best photo), 2011
 * Nomination for the Innovation Prize of the German Economy, 2016

Memberships
Lang is involved in various associations: in the German Society of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology e. V. and in the German Industry Association Biotechnology (a trade association in the Association of the Chemical Industry), where she is a member of the board.

Since 2012, Christine Lang, together with the agricultural economist Joachim von Braun, chaired the Bioeconomy Council of the German Federal Government, which advises the German government on the further development of the bioeconomy in Germany. Since March 2017 she is 1st Vice President of the Association for General and Applied Microbiology.

Monographs

 * (1986) Extrachromosomale In-vitro-Genetik bei Pilzen – Chondriom-Vektoren bei Hefen. Series: Bibliotheca mycologica. Vol. 102. Berlin and Stuttgart: J. Cramer in der Gebrüder-Borntraeger-Verlags-Buchhandlung. ISBN 9783443590031.
 * (2020) with Boris A. Shenderov, Alexander V. Sinitsa, Mikhail M. Zakharchenko: Metabiotics. Present State, Challenges and Perspectives. Cham: Springer Nature. ISBN 9783030341664.

Contributions (selection)

 * (20210) with J. M. Tanzer, A. Thompson, L. Hareng, A. Garner, A. Reindl, Markus Pompejus: ″Caries Inhibition by and Safety of Lactobacillus paracasei DSMZ16671″. In: Journal of Dental Research. Vol. 89, June 2nd 2010, 10.1177/0022034510369460, pp. 921–926.
 * (2011) with Raab, Andreas M.: ″Oxidative versus reductive succinic acid production in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae″. In: Bioengineered Bugs. Vol. 2, No. 2, March 1st 2011, 10.4161/bbug.2.2.14549, pp. 1–4.
 * with Andreas M. Raab, Verena Hlavacek, Natalia Bolotina: Shifting the Fermentative/Oxidative Balance in Saccharomyces cerevisiae by Transcriptional Deregulation of the Snf1 Upstream Activating Kinase Sak1p. In: Applied and environmental microbiology. Band 77, Nr. 6, 21. Januar 2011, 10.1128/AEM.02219-10, pp. 1981–1989.
 * with Caterina Holz, Christiane Alexander, Christina Balcke, Margret Moré, Annegret Auinger, Maren Bauer, Lauren Junker, Jörg Grünwald, Markus Pompejus (2013): Lactobacillus paracasei DSMZ16671 Reduces Mutans Streptococci: A Short-Term Pilot Study. In: Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins. Band 5, 8. September 2013, 10.1007/s12602-013-9148-9, pp. 259–263.
 * with Caterina Holz, Andreas Busjahn, Heidrun Mehling, Stefanie Arya, Mewes Boettner, Hajar Habibi: Significant reduction in Helicobacter pylori load in humans with non-viable Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17648. A pilot study. In: Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins. Band 7, Nr. 2, Juni 2015, 10.1007/s12602-014-9181-3, pp. 91–100.
 * with Caterina Holz: Helicobacter-Infektion mit Bakterien bekämpfen. In: DZKF – Deutsche Zeitschrift für Klinische Forschung. Nr. 4, April 2015, pp. 23–26.
 * with Beate El-Chichakli, Joachim von Braun, Daniel Barben, Jim Philp: Policy: Five cornerstones of a global bioeconomy. In: Nature. Band 535, Juli 2016, 10.1038/535221a, pp. 221–223.
 * with Caterina Holz, J. Benning, M. Schaudt, A. Heilmann, J. Schultchen, D. Goelling: Novel bioactive from Lactobacillus brevis DSM17250 to stimulate the growth of Staphylococcus epidermidis: a pilot study. In: Beneficial Microbes. Band 8, Nr. 1, 2017, pp. 121–131. pdf.
 * Lactobacillus – Mikrobe des Jahres. Lactobacillus – Alleskönner für die Gesundheit? In: BioSpektrum. Band 24, Nr. 1, Februar 2018, 10.1007/s12268-018-0885-x, pp. 23–26.