“A PhD in the biosciences is essential if you want to become a group leader or work in industry”

Exactly 10 years ago, you completed your PhD in the Biophysics group of Daniel Müller. Looking back, how do you memorise and describe your time at D-BSSE?

It was very exciting! I remember when we moved from Dresden to Basel it was a huge move because half of the lab was moving in one big truck. And when we arrived we had to not only assemble our own homes but also the lab, everything from scratch since the labs were all empty. It was the same labs Daniel’s group is still in.  We all had this 'start-up feeling' because all of a sudden we had to deal with a lot of issues us scientists normally didn’t have to deal with before, such as organising moving, organising lab duty, finding our ways through the new building... But at the same time all the other in-house groups seemed to be quite new, so the building was not as populated as it is now. There was more space and only a few groups had moved in, and I kind of knew everyone which was particularly nice. Contributing to this was the weekly social apéros including beer hours. I still have very good friends from that time with whom I am frequently in contact with.

In what way did the PhD lay the basis for what you are today?

First of all, doing a PhD in the Biosciences is essential when you want to move on to different perspective job-profiles. For example, if you want to be a group leader, of course you have to have a PhD and a Post-doc. But also if you want to go to industry. I think that a lot of pharma companies actually require you to have a PhD, at least if you don’t want to be capped at a certain career level. If you want to be a scientist level 1 or 2 having your own group in the pharma-industry, you definitely need a PhD and Post-doc. So, career-wise, these degrees and experiences are very important. Also, if you want to found your own start-up. I think, if you want to have your name in the field means to have a PhD. Scientifically, it might be interesting for you to hear that I changed topic when I left Daniel’s lab from single-molecule biophysics (using AFM, of course); I jumped into a different field which was in-vivo, patients’ brain/Alzheimer’s disease and the role of proteins in this disease. Today, my research is a mix of all this: I am still very intrigued by molecular biophysics, in particular, polymer biophysics, and I apply this to Alzheimer’s disease - which is quite a new approach in this field, and I think it was an advantage to bring all this together in my research.

You are working in a clinique in translational research today. What motivates you to go to work every day, what is it that you enjoy (or like), what is challenging…?

The first motivating thing is my team, the people I work with. I have a great team, and I really enjoy going to the offices and labs and meet these people. And, working in the Home-Office 5 days a week makes me absolutely desperate to chat with them… The other thing I really like about my job as a group leader is that I can structure my own research and my network. I think, networking is of great importance but has been only appreciated in the last 5 to 10 years. Nowadays, there are so many great technologies and occasions that facilitate networking and you can team up with people for some fun ideas because often you are not able to realise some of these ideas by yourself. That is very motivating, in particular having international collaborations, this brings in many new perspectives, in addition to scientific inputs, also ethnical and societal aspects. What I dislike - and I guess that is true for all scientists - is all the administrative stuff with which you are confronted all of a sudden. It constantly passes your way while you manage your project: it goes from writing the grant proposal two years in advance to ordering lab supply for your research. I should specify: a lot of people are afraid of grant writing and think it is the only thing one has to do as a group leader. But it is actually quite cool because you can come up with ideas and discuss those with peers and then apply for funding - and every time it works it is fantastic!

It looks like a common thread runs through your career. Did you have a clear vision of what you wanted to do in life, and what guided your career choices?

The common threat in my career is a protein called Tau (and I think already the name is quite fun…!). I started working on the biophysics of this protein with in Daniel’s lab and now I am studying this protein in Alzheimer’s brain. Around this Tau protein I never had a clear plan what to do next. It sounds like a fairytale if scientists say: “When I was five year’s old I wanted to be…”. I never had such clear vision. I stumbled up on Tau and then I liked it: it is an intrinsically disordered protein which has so many functions we don’t understand. Research on Tau is never boring! I am convinced: I will always have a job working on Tau because I can swop between scientific fields. But I never had a clear plan, it all fell into place. I think, the trick is to stay flexible and to listen to your ‘gut feelings’.

You participated in the Science Slam contest in Berlin in 2019, talking about dementia (external pageYouTubecall_made). Is that passion for science communication something you keep for your spare time or do you enjoy explaining your work to the lay audience whenever there is a possibility coming up?

Yes, I really enjoy this! I am actually a person who is not great on stage, I am always super nervous. Nevertheless, I always sign myself up for this in order to have that challenge. But I also think it is our duty as scientists (and academics) as we are paid by the governments, by the tax-payers, and we have to communicate what we are doing… And it also becomes fun and is very inspiring because you are approached by others, people from the lay audience as well as other scientists who come up with new ideas (or trigger ideas while you talk to them because in the discussion you mix their field with your field). And this is very powerful in order to design new ideas and strategies that help you tackle problems. This is why I do present to lay people frequently. And, once you start with this you get onto the radar of the organisers or public-relations people, you constantly get approached by them. I also participate in the external pageSoapboxcall_made science initiative to increase the visibility of female scientists, and they usually invite to present at theatres, that is always great fun!

Any do’s and don’ts you would like to share with current D-BSSE students with respect to planning the career…?

Yes, my tips would be what I mentioned before: you can boost your career very much if you network, and that is something you can do quite early. Start connecting with people from your own field (like PhDs or PostDocs) as well as from other fields. And stay in touch - because you never know when you will need this connection along your career. Also, not only stay in touch with your peers but across different hierarchy ranks - for example, I am still in touch with Daniel. Networking, in general, is very important. And then, planning your career is a good thing - but don’t ‘over-plan’ it, stay flexible. You often cannot influence what happens, and if you hold onto your ideas too firmly you may end up running after this and you may only waste energy and time, and in the end you don’t get it or you get it and you are disappointed. Stay flexible on your tip-toes a bit and keep your ears (and eyes) open.


Big thanks, Susanne, it was great fun to hear about the early times at D-BSSE! Also, thanks for sharing your biography with D-BSSE members, very inspirational!