My Research
Coincidentally, both my love for running and interest in scientific research
have been sparked during my exchange year in 10th grade at Sandia Preparatory School in
Albuquerque, NM. A very hands-on biology course with an enthusiastic teacher
instilled my passion for natural sciences in general and biomedical research
specifically.
After my German Abitur in 2015, I studied “Molecular Medicine” at the University of Tuebingen, discovered my
passion for Immunology and moved to the US for both my bachelor’s and master’s
thesis. I worked, again, with a motivated young immunology professor in a small
lab studying “dirty mice”. Seems a bit odd!? Well, research has shown that our
immune systems only fully develops if it gets exposed to different external
pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria. It basically gets schooled the same
way we do! This is one of the reasons why little children get sick much more
frequently than adults.
Anyways, as you might be able to tell from now: I am curious about science
and how and why things work, especially in our body. The immune system impacts
a lot of other areas and is thus both exciting and difficult to study. My PhD
project at ETH Zürich (Oxenius Lab)
explores the cross-talk of different immune cells with awesome names such as
natural killer cells or T-Rex, sorry, “Tregs” (regulatory T cells) that prevent
potentially autoreactive cells to attack our own body. Sounds complicated? It
is, but it is important to understand this process to enable better therapies
for autoimmune conditions such as Diabetes or Long-COVID19.
In the future, I hope to be able to explain science to a broader audience.
Research is impressive, fascinating, but also very frustrating to do and
difficult to understand. I am by far no expert, but I am excited to contribute
to improving our understanding and dive into the world of science a bit deeper!
If you have any questions or thoughts, don’t hesitate to contact me!