Associate Professor Georg Fritz is an ARC Future Fellow in the School of Molecular Sciences at The University of Western Australia. He leads a synthetic biology research group focused on transforming fast-growing microbes into programmable cell factories for sustainable manufacturing. His team has pioneered the use of Vibrio natriegens as a next-generation microbial chassis, developing advanced genetic toolkits—including the Vnat Collection—for high-efficiency gene regulation and genome engineering. Dr Fritz’s current research explores how engineered microbes can convert waste carbon streams into biodegradable plastics and other high-value compounds. His work spans synthetic biology, metabolic engineering, and environmental biotechnology, with applications in plastic degradation, green chemistry, and the circular bioeconomy. He collaborates with national and international partners across academia and industry, and has published extensively in microbial engineering and synthetic regulatory systems.