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PhD in Biochemistry

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany

Dissertation: Self-Organization and Molecular Transport by a Biological Reaction-Diffusion System

• Research in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry
• Graduate School of Quantitative Biology Munich

Master of Science in Biochemistry

Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Master's Thesis: Observation, quantitation and application of contact-dependent growth inhibition for controlling cell growth and patterning

• Minors: Protein Chemistry, Biophysics
• Research for Master's Thesis conducted with Drew Endy, Bioengineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
• Semester abroad at the Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Bachelor's Thesis: Force Spectroscopy of Vimentin Coiled-Coils

• Research for Bachelor's Thesis conducted with Matthias Rief, Chair of Biophysics (E22),Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany

Associate Research Scholar and CPBF Fellow

Princeton University, Princeton, USA
Advisor: Jared Toettcher

• Synthetic release and sensing circuits for multicellular pattern formation in Jared Toettcher's lab.
• In vitro reconstitution of a self-organizing kinase-phosphatase system in collaboration with Ting-Sung Hsieh and Vincent Tagliabracci (UT Southwestern)

Postdoctoral Researcher

Department of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
Advisor: Petra Schwille

• Characterization of a biomolecular condensate in collaboration with Dominik Schumacher and Lotte Sogaard-Andersen (MPI for Terrestrial Microbiology)

PhD student

Department of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, Max-Planck-Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
Advisor: Petra Schwille

• In vitro reconstitution of the MinDE system towards a more detailed and quantitative understanding of the self-organization mechanism employing
  • Model membranes
  • Mutational analysis in vitro and in vivo (E. coli)
  • Microfabrication and micropatterning techniques
  • Quantitative fluorescence microscopy
  • High-speed atomic force microscopy and mass-sensitive particle tracking
• Discovery, characterization and application of a non-specific, active directional transport by the MinDE system
  • In vitro reconstitution experiments to show that MinDE molecules can transport and position functionally unrelated molecules on membranes.
  • Detailed characterization of the transport using highly controllable DNA origami as cargo molecule. In collaboration with theoretical physicists Andriy Goychuk and Erwin Frey we could pinpoint the underlying mechanism to be diffusiophoresis.
  • Patterning of DNA origami molecules on membranes by MinDE
  • Reconstitution of MinDE dynamics and diffusiophoresis in the fission yeast (S. pombe)

Visiting Researcher

Bioengineering Department, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
Advisors: Drew Endy, Aymelt Itzen

• Conducted time-lapse microscopy to investigate the role of contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) in surface growth of E. coli
• Conducted experiments to evaluate potential of CDI for synthetic biology applications such as growth control and contact-dependent patterning

Intern in Research and Development

BYK Chemie GmbH, Wesel, Germany

• Screenining and characterization of enzymatic reactions for the production of additives

Research Assistant

Chair of Biophysics (E22), Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Advisors: Matthias Rief, Johannes Stigler

• Performed and analysed single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments by optical tweezers to assess the folding and stability of a fragment of the model intermediate filament protein vimentin following up on my Bachelor's thesis.

Exchange student in Biochemistry

Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

• Attended cell biology and programming lectures held in Spanish and was an intern in Maite Castro's lab.

Member of the iGEM team TU Munich

Technical University Munich, Munich Germany
Advisor: Fritz Simmel

• Member of a student team working on EXPRESS3D, a bacterial 3D printer based on a light excitable logical AND-gate implemented in E. coli .

• Otto Hahn Medal awarded by the Max Planck Society
• GBM Promotionspreis (PhD award) awarded by the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM)
• Center for NanoScience (CeNS) LMU publication award in the category “Best interdisciplinary publication” for Ramm & Goychuk et al., 2021

• CPBF fellow

• ORIGINS PhD Award awarded by the ORIGINS excellence cluster, Munich

• Poster Prize at the GRC Bacterial Cell Surfaces

• Student Poster Prize at the 19th IUPAB and 11th EBSA congress
• Presentation Award at the annual QBM retreat

• DFG PhD fellowship awarded by the Graduate School of Quantitative Biology Munich

• Jürgen Manchot Studienpreis for excellence in academic studies awarded by the Technical University of Munich

• Germany Scholarship (Deutschlandstipendium) awarded three consecutive times; National Scholarship program for highly motivated and excellent students financed by the German federal government and public-private partnership

• Mentor of the iGEM team Princeton University 2023

• Lecture “Short introduction to Biology” and instructor of an optics lab at the Physics of Life Summer School, Princeton University

• Instructor for “Biochemistry 2”, a practical course for Chemistry bachelor students, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

• Mentoring of four students for their Master's Thesis/mandatory internships

• Teaching Assistant, Physical Chemistry 2: Molecular Spectroscopy, Technical University of Munich

• GRC Synthetic Biology, Newry, ME, USA, Selected Talk: Shedding light on pattern formation across scales with synthetic approaches

• Phase Group Biweekly Seminar and Prokaryotes Lunch, Princeton University, Talk: A biomolecular condensate nucleates polymerization of the tubulin homolog FtsZ to spatiotemporally regulate bacterial cell division

• GBM Awards Event, Virtual, Award Talk: Molecular transport by a biological reaction-diffusion system
• Award Ceremony at the Max Planck Society’s 2021 Annual Meeting, Virtual, Award Talk: Self-Organization and Molecular Transport by a Biological Reaction-Diffusion System

• Virtual science meeting of the excellence cluster Origins, Virtual, Award Talk: Self-organization and molecular transport by a biochemical reaction-diffusion system
• Biophysical Society 64th Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, USA, Selected Talk: Molecular transport and spatial sorting of membrane-bound DNA nanostructures by a biological reaction-diffusion system

• 13th annual qBio 2019, San Francisco, CA, USA, Selected Talk: Molecular Transport by a Propagating Diffusion Barrier
• Company of Biologists Workshop “In vitro reconstitution of the cell cytoskeleton”, Wiston House, UK, Selected Participant, Selected Talk: The MinDE system is a generic spatial cue for membrane protein distribution in vitro

• ACSB/EMBO 2018 Meeting, San Diego, CA, USA, Selected Talk: The MinDE system forms a propagating diffusion barrier that drives directed membrane protein transport
• GRS Bacterial Cell Surfaces, Mount Snow, VT, USA, Selected Talk: The MinDE system is a generic spatial cue for membrane protein distribution in vitro

• Lorentz Center Workshop “Reconstituting Biology: Charting the Way to Minimal Cells”, Leiden, Netherlands
• American Physical Society March Meeting, Chicago, IL, USA, Poster: Reconstituting the self-organization of a minimal kinase/phosphatase system in vitro

• DFG-funded TRR174 conference “Prokaryotic Cell Biology”, Bad Staffelstein, Germany, Poster: The MinDE system forms a propagating diffusion barrier that drives directed protein transport in vitro

• GRC Bacterial Cell Surfaces, Mount Snow, VT, USA, Poster: The MinDE system is a generic spatial cue for membrane protein distribution in vitro
• EMBO | EMBL Symposium Tissue Self-Organisation: Challenging the Systems, Heidelberg, Germany, Poster: The MinDE system is a generic spatial cue for membrane protein distribution in vitro
• DFG-funded TRR174 conference “Spatiotemporal Organization of Bacterial Cells”, Marburg, Germany, Session Chair and Poster: The MinDE system is a generic spatial cue for membrane protein distribution in vitro

• 19th IUPAB congress and 11th EBSA congress, Edinburgh, UK, Poster: HS-AFM imaging of the MinDE protein oscillator

• EMBO Workshop Bacterial Cell Division: Orchestrating the ring cycle, Czech Republic, Poster: In vitro reconstitution of nucleoid-guided cargo positioning
• The 51st Winter Seminar, Klosters, Switzerland, Poster: In vitro reconstitution of the E. coli Min system in 3D confined environments