Molecular Microbiology and Genomics Consultants (Germany)

Molecular Microbiology and Genomics Consultants (MMGC) is a small, specialist scientific consultancy based in Mainz, Germany. It was founded in 1998 by microbiologist Trudy Wassenaar, who remains its principal research consultant. The firm works with academic and applied research groups in microbiology, molecular biology and genomics, providing expert input that complements rather than replaces the client's own laboratory work. MMGC's service portfolio is built around the practical bottlenecks that research groups face. Its research consultancy covers experimental strategy design, problem solving, project management and overall guidance for group leaders and their teams. A second core offering is bioinformatic analysis: the firm helps clients extract meaning from microbial sequence data, going beyond routine BLAST searches to interpret newly identified genes and genomes. It also provides project management for research networks, including coordination, science communication and dissemination. A further area of activity is scientific publishing support. MMGC assists with drafting publications, preparing tables and figures, conducting literature searches and editing manuscripts, explicitly framing this as assistance rather than ghost writing. The firm describes itself as drawing on more than 20 years of experience across a broad range of research fields. As a consultancy rather than a laboratory or product manufacturer, MMGC has no consumer product line. Its work is delivered through intensive email contact, web conferencing and regular personal visits, allowing it to serve clients internationally from its German base. The founder's own research background spans molecular genetics and genomics of bacteria and viruses, including work on Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli and Vibrio cholerae, and she has held part-time academic affiliations in Denmark and the United States. This deep specialist expertise is the firm's principal asset and the basis of its positioning as an expert partner for microbial research groups.

Molecular Microbiology and Genomics Consultants (MMGC) was founded in 1998 by Trudy Wassenaar, a microbiologist whose research career began in the Netherlands. Before founding the consultancy, Wassenaar worked as a laboratory assistant at the Free University in Amsterdam (1984–1989), then completed a Ph.D. and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Utrecht's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (1989–1993), where she studied motility genes of Campylobacter jejuni. From 1993 to 1998 she was a research fellow at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz in Germany, at the Institute for Medical Microbiology, researching heat shock and porin genes of Salmonella, hemolysin genes of E. coli and Vibrio cholerae, and many aspects of Campylobacter including virulence and colonization genetics, genotyping methods, genetic instability, genomics and population genetics. In 1998 she established MMGC and became its principal research consultant, serving academic and applied microbiological research clients. The firm has operated continuously from its base in Mainz, Germany, and describes itself as having over 20 years of experience across a broad range of research fields. Its consulting work is carried out through intensive email contact, web conferencing and regular personal visits, a delivery model that allows it to work with clients internationally. Alongside running MMGC, Wassenaar has held part-time academic positions: from 2005 to 2009 she was a part-time associate professor at the Center for Biological Sequence Analysis at the Danish Technical University (DTU) in Lyngby, Denmark, and from 2015 to 2016 she was a part-time associate professor at ORLN in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. She has also undertaken international research visits at the University of Cape Town in South Africa, RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, the South African National Bioinformatics Institute in Belleville, South Africa, and ID-DLO in Lelystad, the Netherlands. MMGC's service lines developed around the needs of research groups: research consultancy and experimental strategy design, bioinformatic analysis of microbial sequences, project management and coordination of research networks, and support for scientific publications including drafting assistance, tables and figures, literature searches and manuscript editing. The firm positions this publication support explicitly as assistance rather than ghost writing. As a consultancy rather than a laboratory or manufacturer, MMGC has no product catalogue; its offering is expert time and analysis, and its identity is closely tied to the scientific reputation and publication record of its founder.

• 2015

  Wassenaar holds a part-time associate professorship at ORLN, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA, until 2016.

• 2005

  Wassenaar begins a part-time associate professorship at the Center for Biological Sequence Analysis, Danish Technical University (DTU), Lyngby, Denmark, lasting until 2009.

• 1998

  MMGC is founded by Trudy Wassenaar, who becomes its principal research consultant.

• 1993

  Wassenaar becomes a research fellow at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Institute for Medical Microbiology.

• 1989

  Wassenaar begins Ph.D. and later postdoctoral work at the University of Utrecht, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, studying motility genes of Campylobacter jejuni.

• 1984

  Trudy Wassenaar begins her career as a laboratory assistant at the Free University in Amsterdam, Department of Biochemistry.

A specialist, founder-led scientific consultancy offering expert microbiology, molecular biology and genomics support to academic and applied research groups, delivered remotely and through personal visits.

• Research consultancy

  Experimental strategy design, problem solving, project management and overall guidance for research groups.

• Bioinformatic analysis

  Expert analysis of microbial sequences and genomes, going beyond routine BLAST searches.

• Project management

  Management, coordination, science communication and dissemination for research networks.

• Scientific publications support

  Assistance with drafting publications, tables, figures and literature searches; explicitly not ghost writing.

• Manuscript editing

  Editing manuscripts to improve the chance of entering peer review.

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2. 2About usmmgc.eu
3. 3Servicesmmgc.eu
4. 4Molecular Microbiology and Genomics Consultants (Germany)wikidata.org