Projects
Science Communication
Building Collaborative Networks & Politics
Protecting Nature
Science
Communication
Transparent access to information is fundamental to enabling individuals to make informed decisions, shaping policy, and driving scientific advancement.
@BerlinInNumbers
A Digital Urban Exploration
Cities are living ecosystems with several layers of tightly intertwined social, economic and political networks.
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I retrieve open source data for the city of Berlin and visualize different aspects of these networks. I correlated demographic data with election outcomes, identified hotspots of bike theft, determined substance use per capita and analysed many other datasets.
NextstrainAustria
Communicating Pathogen Evolution to the Public
The COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented challenge for scientists and policy makers. Austria played a central role in cross-continental transmission of SARS-CoV-2. I set up NextstrainAustria in order to streamline the information flow from our SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance project to journalists, policy makers and the general public.
NextstrainAustria is an interactive platform to visualize the phylogeny and spread of pathogens. See below an example of our "narratives" where we explained findings from our SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance project.
Building Collaborative
Networks
Connecting people from different backgrounds and perspectives unleashes collaborative power. I believe that such interactions are the cornerstone of scientific innovation and the democratic process.
STI-AMOR
Connecting Science and Queer Healthcare Providers to Tackle Infectious Disease Outbreaks
Case numbers of sexually-transmissible infections (STIs) are on the rise across Europe and North America.
Current surveillance measures are not sufficient for a complete assessment of the extent of the STI outbreak and the potential development of antimicrobial resistances.
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I conceived the STI-AMOR project to enable population-wide surveillance of STI pathogens, aiming to estimate both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases while identifying potential antimicrobial resistance threats.
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To achieve this, I established a collaborative network between academic researchers and frontline community healthcare providers, fostering knowledge exchange and optimizing surveillance efforts.
Rainbow Alliance for Life Sciences and Medicine
Leading Vienna's Life Sciences in Diversity
Advocating for Diversity
I am founder and head of the Rainbow Alliance for Life Sciences and Medicine Vienna, a network of diversity representatives of the leading Viennese life science institutes and the Medical University of Vienna. Our network represents over 20.000 employees, scientists, doctors, nurses and students in Vienna's Life Science and Medicine sector.
We create a space to build connections, share experiences, engage in awareness projects, and establish mentorship opportunities, specifically catering to the queer community within the medical-academic sector. Additionally, it acts as a primary community contact for queer internationals arriving in Vienna.
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I also manage our social media outreach and create all graphical content for our group. Check out our Instagram channel for the full experience (follow the link below, as some posts aren't visible due to API restrictions, and give us a follow):
QUEERS AHEAD!
Uniting Europe with Pride
As a member of the International Committee of Homosexuelle Initiative Wien (HOSI Wien), Vienna's oldest and most established queer advocacy group, I co-organized the Erasmus-funded project 'Queers Ahead!'. This initiative focused on strengthening the network of European queer organizations. We hosted young queer activists from Czechia, Italy, and Germany for a week of networking events, seminars and socialising, aimed at strengthening Europe's queer advocacy network and empowering the next generation of queer activists.
Vienna Life Science PhD Meetup
Bridging Institutes for Groundbreaking Collaboration
Fostering Future Innovations
During my term as CeMM PhD Represenative in 2022, I initiated the first Vienna Life Science PhD Meetup to foster collaboration between PhD students from Vienna's top life science institutes the CeMM Research Center for Molecular Medicine, the Vienna Biocenter VBC, the Institute for Science and Technology Austria ISTA and the St. Anna's Children's Cancer Research Institute CCRI. This networking and collaboration event has become a quarterly highlight at our partner institutions, attracting up to 100 PhD students each session.
These events are crucial in fostering scientific collaboration, creating a vibrant community where PhD students can exchange ideas, share insights, and spark innovative partnerships. They provide an enriching environment that enhances the doctoral experience, broadening horizons beyond individual research projects and embedding a sense of camaraderie and interdisciplinary understanding among the next generation of scientists.
Representative @Heidelberg's
Studierendenrat
Building a New System for
Student Representation
Establishment of a new Democratic Representation
In 2013, a new law was passed that allowed the re-establishment of democratic student representations at universities in the federal state Baden-Württemberg. I managed the participation of students of the medical and natural sciences in the university-wide referendum and acted as first representative of the Molecular Biotechnologists in the new student council and leader of the natural sciences faction.
Protecting
Nature
Pollutants emitted since the industrial revolution accumulate in our environment and even organisms. We need to reduce emissions and remediate the environment to protect our ecosystems and existence.
Microbial Bioremediation
From Heavy Metals
to Healthy Soils
Activating Nature's Self-Restoration Forces
I started my scientific career by developing a bacterial bioremediation process for the restoration of contaminated soil, a major environmental concern in my hometown Berlin. This early work earned me the Nature Conservation Prize of Berlin and top honors in Germany's national “Jugend forscht” competition.
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Heavy metals that have entered the soil typically accumulate and are not degraded by soil organisms. Increased heavy metal concentrations in former irrigation fields are toxic for plants and reduce their growth and viability - rendering these fields unfit for agriculture. However, in the irrigation fields of Berlin, I discovered a bacterium capable of reducing the bioavailable heavy metal content in soils.
We believe that this bacterium produces a peptide that encapsulates heavy metal ions upon contact and, thereby, makes heavy metal ions unavailable for plants growing on these soils. By adding these newly discovered bacteria to contaminated soils, I was able to significantly improve and fully restore healthy plant growth. This process is called bioremediation and it opens new avenues for restoring thousands of hectares of former irrigation fields.
