The interplay between biology and technology is in the DNA of Fraunhofer IGB in Stuttgart, which develops technological solutions for a wide range of topics, from patient-centric healthcare to sustainable and climate-neutral chemistry and ensuring an unspoiled environment with closed material cycles in line with the principles of bioeconomy. With Kluger joining Fraunhofer IGB, the institute management and the research field of biofabrication in particular are gaining additional support. The institute aims to leverage her expertise in biofabrication to drive advances in science, business and society and ramp up future activity in the agriculture and food industry lead market while continuing to address the chemical industry and healthcare sector lead markets.
“With its excellent research at the intersection of biology, chemistry and process engineering, Fraunhofer IGB addresses key challenges across business, industry and society. Forging close connections between expertise in biology and process engineering in particular will unlock tremendous potential for innovation in the fields of sustainable growth, technological sovereignty and environmental protection,” explains Holger Hanselka, President of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft. “Appointing Professor Kluger to this position sends a strong signal in favor of biotechnology at Fraunhofer IGB going forward. I am delighted to see an additional director come on board. Our customers from the health, green chemistry, environmental and climate action sectors will benefit substantially from this new alignment at Fraunhofer IGB across every area of the value chain,” he adds.
Advancing expertise, tapping into new markets
Kluger previously spent eight years working as a professor of tissue engineering and biofabrication at Reutlingen University. At the same time, she was growing her experience in strategic research management at the university, where she served as a vice president in the rector’s office from 2018 to 2023. Before she was appointed to the role in Reutlingen, she headed what was then the Cell and Tissue Engineering department at Fraunhofer IGB. With this background, her expertise complements that of institute director Markus Wolperdinger, an internationally recognized bioeconomist who has been instrumental in leading the institute since taking up the position in 2018.
“I am very pleased that we were able to win over Professor Kluger, an experienced research scientist with an international reputation, for the institute management team at Fraunhofer IGB. She knows the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and our institute from personal experience and brings with her extensive professional skills in the fields of medical biotechnology, biofabrication and novel food, which are all ideal additions to the spectrum at Fraunhofer IGB. This will allow us not only to advance our existing expertise but also explore additional new markets for our technologies. By making this move, we are generating important momentum in the German research landscape and strengthening what we offer as a partner and service provider to industry,” says Wolperdinger, who is taking on the position of executive director as part of the institute management expansion.
Kluger explains: “Crucial factors for my return to Fraunhofer IGB include the fact that I can continue my research on an interdisciplinary basis here while also addressing new business fields for the institute. Biofabrication — that is, producing complex biological products such as artificial tissue or lab-grown meat — is truly a subject for interfacial engineering, as living cells interact with material surfaces and require nutrient solutions to multiply and differentiate. The final step is to really scale up these methods to be able to produce enough cellular mass, and that is true in both biomedicine and the food sector.”
Scientific excellence through synergies with university
Kluger’s role in the institute management at Fraunhofer IGB goes hand in hand with a professorship of interfacial process engineering at the University of Stuttgart. She has been appointed to head the Institute of Interfacial Process Engineering and Plasma Technology IGVP, which cooperates with Fraunhofer IGB, as of June 1, 2025, taking up a position that was vacant for years. Going forward, the move will further bolster the collaboration between the two institutions and unlock fresh synergies.
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft