Bärbel Hahn-Hägerdal, born in 1943, was appointed professor of Applied Microbiology 1990 and is now emerita professor at the division of Applied Microbiology. She obtained a PhD in Biochemistry in 1976 on protein chemistry in relation to functional properties of food proteins. During a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, she worked on the bioconversion of renewable resources and subsequently she introduced this field of research in Sweden upon her return in the late 70-ies. Her work initially focused on the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose, but has in the past 15 years turned to the fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates with recombinant strains of baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. This line of research offered the possibility to build a knowledge base in genetic and metabolic engineering and later in systems biology.