Ute Hentschel Humeida is a Professor of Marine Microbiology at GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany. Prof. Hentschel Humeida aims to better understand the physiology, metabolism and molecular interactions between marine microbes and macroorganisms, in particular sponges. A combination of modern -omics technologies, in vivo experimentation, and regular field work is employed towards this goal. Her research interests also extend to drug discovery from marine bacteria (in particular, actinomycetes) with the aim to discover novel, bioactive natural products.