Prof. Dr. Rainer Fischer is a Presidential Fellow and Research Professor at Purdue University. He is an internationally recognized scientist with expertise spanning the fields of pharmaceutical, agricultural, industrial, nutritional and environmental biotechnology, including omics technology, protein engineering, molecular medicine, immunology, virology, drug discovery, and the GMP manufacturing of recombinant protein biologicals for clinical trials. He was formerly CEO and CSIO of the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute (2017–2020), Senior Executive Director of the Fraunhofer IME, Germany (2001–2017) and Department Head of the Institute for Molecular Biotechnology at RWTH Aachen University, Germany (2000–2017).

Prof. Dr. Fischer established and built the Fraunhofer IME in Aachen and expanded the institute to six locations in Germany as well as two subsidiaries – Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB) and Fraunhofer Chile Research (FCR) – together employing more than 700 personnel. At the same time, he expanded his RWTH University department to 70 personnel and formed links with Maastricht University to launch the Aachen-Maastricht Institute of Biobased Materials (AMIBM). Based on these achievements, he was awarded the title of Distinguished Professor by RWTH Aachen University in 2015 and Full Professor by Maastricht University in 2017. He became a Presidential Fellow at Purdue University in 2018.

During his extensive career, Prof. Dr. Fischer has raised more than €800 million in European research funds and more than $300 million internationally. He has given more than 400 scientific presentations around the world, and has published more than 460 peer-reviewed scientific publications (h-index = 78) as well as 58 book chapters and one book. He has 96 pending patent applications and 48 granted patents. He has graduated more than 100 Bachelor’s students, 200 Master’s students, and 137 PhD students.

At the managerial level, Prof. Dr. Fischer been extensively immersed in project acquisition and management, human resources, operations, technology and information management, supervision of large groups, financial accounting, marketing, licensing, contract negotiations, product development, strategic planning, business start-ups, due diligence, IP filing, multiple clinical trials, and engagement with regulatory bodies. He has helped to establish five start-up companies, assisted in bringing five products to the market, and has served on multiple national and international advisory boards. He has consulted extensively for the German federal government, the European Commission and several Members of the European Parliament, and has served on multiple scientific program advisory boards and working groups in academia and industry.