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Nesma Ismael
visiting doctoral student (2024/2025)
Driven by the desire and curiosity to understand disease mechanisms and develop novel therapeutic approaches, I joined the Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology at the German University in Cairo, Egypt for my studies. During my bachelor degree, I was specifically fascinated by the immune system's role in contributing to multiple diseases and how Immunotherapy approaches are emerging to correct detrimental signalling pathways. Therefore, upon graduating, I chose to join the Department of Microbiology and Immunology of the German University in Cairo to do further research in the field of Molecular Immunology.
Currently, I am a doctorate student at the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Justus Liebig University Giessen, investigating the function and distribution of dendritic cell populations along the epididymis in physiological and pathological conditions. This project is executed in collaboration with Prof. Johannes Mayer, which is why I visiting the Mayer lab for six months to learn how to perform 30-color spectral flow cytometry.
Mani Meghana Konga
Student (2024)
I enjoy conducting root cause analysis because identifying pathogens in diseases makes pinpointing the root cause easier. Furthermore conditions with complex origins, such as autoimmunity or cancer, especially pique my curiosity.
When I discovered the chromium hyperaccumulating potential of Brachiaria ramosa plant during my master's dissertation, I was inspired to explore molecular-level controls. Simultaneously, with the pandemic around, my focus shifted to the immune system, leading me to work at Syngene with the Cell Therapy group for two years. Through diverse industry projects like γδ T cells expansion, CAR-T, therapeutic bispecific antibodies, and a target validation study, my interests in therapeutic development intensified, particularly in immune system augmentation.
I am inspired to leverage the existing immune system to cure pathologies. This drives me to explore rare, unexplored populations of T-cells. At the Mayer lab, I studied Ex-Tregs (Tregs that lost their regulatory properties) and explored their application in cancer immunotherapy.
Carolin Rother
Dr. rer. nat. Student (2024), now at the Goethe University Frankfurt
I have been interested in the natural sciences for a long time. After graduating from high school, I studied Biochemistry at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf. During my Bachelor's degree, I developed a particular interest in medical research topics and therefore decided to do my Master's in Biomedicine at Hannover Medical School.
For my Master's thesis, I worked on the development of CAR-NK cells as a treatment option for cervical cancer. This made me realise that my greatest passion is immunology, in particular how immune cells are involved in diseases and how they can be harnessed for cell-based therapies. I am therefore very happy that I have the opportunity to do my PhD in the Dermatological Immunotherapy group in Mainz to study the role of Dendritic Cells in skin cancer.
Ewelina Żebrowska
visiting doctoral student (2024)
My fascination about biology began already when I was a child. I therefore went on to study biotechnology in my home country Poland. After my master degree I went for a Erasmus intership at the Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany, where I had opportunity to get more knowledge about RNA biology, which helped me understand the complexity of diverse biological processes.
Currently I am PhD student at the Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research in Olsztyn, Poland where I am working on the interactions between macrophages and fibroblasts during endometrial fibrosis development. During my research journey I fell in love with immunology and am excited to study the role of macrophages in wound healing during my visit at the Dermatological Immunotherapy Group in Mainz.
Fabian Bleise
Dr. med. Student (2023), now at the Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Marburg
Iˋve always been interested in science, especially biology and physics. During my academic career I became interested in not only learning about these subjects but also applying them. This is what led me to study medicine in Marburg. Here, I became aware of the work of Dr. Mayer pertaining to dendritic cells (DC) and the work of Dr. Kolahian about Myeloid Derived Suppressor Cells (MDSC).
I am excited to work on my medical doctoral thesis with both of them, focusing on the interactions between MDSC and DC. In particular, the project is aiming to answer the questions if MDSC can express MHC molecules, present antigens themselves and, through those mechanisms, drive T cell responses.
Shafaq Riaz
Dr. rer. nat. Student (2023), now at the Department of Dermatology, Marburg
During my bachelor degree in biotechnology in Pakistan, I went for a semester exchange at the University of Nebraska, USA, and fell in love with health sciences. After completing my undergraduate, I was selected for the Erasmus Mundus master of vaccinology LIVE+ program, offering me a full scholarship to study in the EU. During my studies in France, Spain and Germany I developed a great interest in immunology and translational research into vaccines.
My current doctoral project at the Dendritic cell biology lab under the supervision of Dr. Johannes Mayer focuses on the intricate complexities of dendritic cell subsets, dynamics of development, and the functional role of dendritic cells in priming immune responses to develop more efficient vaccines in the future.
Julie Fischer
Dr. med. Student (2023), now at the Department of Dermatology, Marburg
My interest in immunology already begun in school, where biology was my favorite subject. After the abitur I worked with people with disabilities and soon decided to study medicine, so I could combine both my social and my scientific interests.
During my studies at the University of Marburg and several internships at the UKGM, I got to know medications that modulate the human immune system to treat cancers or autoimmune disorders. I became even more interested in the fast-growing field of immunotherapy and the way of treating patients by boosting or suppressing their immune system by targeting specific molecular pathways.
In my Medical Doctoral thesis project at the DC Biology Lab, I therefore really look forward to participate in a phase II clinical trial, which studies T cell communication in oral lichen planus.
Tek Thakur
Bachelor Thesis Student (2023)
I always had a keen interest in antigen presenting cells and the way they respond to invading pathogens, which is why after my high school graduation in Nepal I came to study Human Biology in Germany. As a prerequisite for my Bachelor-Studies, I completed my Studienkolleg at the Technische Universität Berlin in 2018 and started to study Human Biology at Philipps Universität Marburg. In order to intensify my knowledge about pathogen biology, I selected the specialization of infection biology as an emphasis module for my bachelor’s degree.
I am very glad to have the opportunity to work on my Bachelor’s thesis with the enthusiastic Team of the DC Biology Lab. I will be working on characterizing the location of dendritic cells in healthy tissues of zbtb46-driven GFP Reporter mice using different 3D microscopy methods and investigate how they change during infection.
António Santos
Clinician Scientist (2022-2023)
After finishing Medical School in Lisbon NOVA Medical School in 2018, I wanted to get my specialization in Dermatology but wanting to do Research as well. Therefore, I worked 1 year as a general doctor in Portugal and afterwards decided to come to Germany. In Köln I was able to get my Approbation, to work as a medical doctor in Germany, and started a small Internship in a Praxis.
In January and February 2022, I did a clinical Internship in Universitätsklinikum Marburg, and I now joined the department as a clincian scientist. The aim of my research project is to improve the Diagnosis of Autoimmune Blistering diseases through the identification of certain microscopic immunofluorescence patterns, which will hopefully help us diagnose these diseases better.
Nawaf Estifan
Master Thesis Student (2022)
Hello everyone! My name is Nawaf Estifan. I graduated with a Bachelor of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical chemistry in Latakia, Syria. Afterwards, I chose to further my studies and follow my passion for dermatology and cosmetical sciences and joined a two-year Erasmus Mundus Master in dermatological and translational sciences.
I performed my Master Thesis in 2022 under the supervision of Dr. Mayer regarding dendritic cells and their plasticity to see how DCs react to different conditions during health and disease.
Marie Witt
Bachelor Thesis Student (2022)
One of my favorite subjects in school has always been biology, which is why I did an internship in a lab at the Universitätsklinikum Eppendorf in Hamburg during my Abitur in 2018. Although I really enjoyed it, I was not quite sure what I wanted to study. So, I did a gap semester at the Sonoma State University close to San Francisco, US, where I was able to try out a lot of different lectures and also experiments in the lab.
Afterwards, it was very clear to me that I wanted to continue my studies in the research field. That is when I discovered the bachelor program “Human Biology” in Marburg and I immediately knew that this was what I wanted to study. So, I started my bachelor’s in 2019 and am finished my bachelor thesis at the DC Biology Lab in 2022, looking at dendritic cells in the tumor microenvironment.
Dr. Mudassar Mughal
Postdoctoral Researcher (2022)
After graduating as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (Pakistan) and Master of Philosophy in Preventive Medicine (China), I completed my PhD in Medicine at the University in Gießen in 2022. Being involved in research related to infection and immunity for the last 6 years, I have been interested in host-pathogen interactions and the changes a host undergoes after being infected.
I am enthusiastically exploring the cellular interactions of dendritic cells and their involvement in signaling cascades in healthy and diseased skin. In parallel, I am involved in the immunological analysis of patient samples from a clinical phase II trial conducted at the Department of Dermatology and Allergology.
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