Bernhard Krismer

Senior Scientist, University of Tübingen

Bernhard Krismer studied Biology in Innsbruck, Austria, and Tübingen, Germany, and obtained Diploma and PhD degrees in Microbiology. He held a postdoctoral position in the lab of Friedrich Götz in Tübingen. In 2002 he joined the company DR. PETRY genmedics GmbH as CSO (chief scientific officer), being responsible for contract research, development of large-scale protein expression and purification with a proprietary expression system, and screening of natural product libraries. In 2008 he joined the group of Prof. Andreas Peschel at the University of Tübingen investigating the human nose as ecological niche for bacteria. As a group leader he is now focusing on pathogenic S. aureus and the development of new anti-infectives by exploring natural interactions between nasal bacteria. In 2018 he was awarded the Rudolf-Schülke-Hygiene prize for the discovery of lugdunin, a non-ribosomally synthesized (NRPS) antimicrobial produced by the human commensal Staphylococcus lugdunensis, which can outcompete S. aureus in vivo. In 2024, he described a second NRPS antimicrobial from the human microbiome, epifadin, with an unprecedented structure and strong anti-S. aureus activity.