Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Menschheitsgeschichte, Jena

Discipline: Sensory and Behavioural Biology

simone.pika@uni-osnabrueck.de

I am the head of the research group ‘Comparative Biocognition’ at the Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Osnabrück. My research centers on disentangling the puzzle of language evolution and cognition by applying a unique combination of methods from Comparative Psychology, Cognitive Science, Ethology and AI to different model systems (primates, corvids). I have published on learning, shaping and referential use of gestures, the impact of experience and social matrices on gestural output, species specific communication styles, and the existence of turn-taking rules in great ape gesturing. I was awarded in 2010 with the Sofja-Kovalevskaja Award and received 2017 an ERC-Consolidator Grant of the EU to investigate the evolution of turn-taking. 

Host Institute: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster

Discipline: History of Law, Constitutional History

buongior@uni-muenster.de

Studium der Klassischen Philologie (1999-2004) und der Rechtswissenschaften (2007-2012) in Lecce, Bari, Rom 'Sapienza', Ioannina. Promotion in Rechtsgeschichte an der Uni-Bari (2008). Forschungsaufenthalten in Heidelberg, München, Princeton, NYU. Professor für Römisches Recht an der Universität Salento. Sofja-Kovalevskaja-Preisträger (2014) und Nachwuchsgruppenleiter an der WWU Münster (2014-2020). Forschungsgebiete: Römische Rechtsgeschichte; Palingenesie der normativen Texte der Antike.

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Mikrostrukturphysik, Halle
Discipline: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics 

mazhar_nawaz.ali@mpi-halle.mpg.de

I am originally from the San Francisco area in California, doing my PhD at Princeton and my PostDoc at IBM. In Halle, Germany, my group works on an interdisciplinary approach to using and exploring properties of quantum materials and applying lessons learned from the field of topology in new ways. Our research topics include; investigation of Hall effects and their dependence on Berry curvature and Fermi surface geometry, exploring properties of Josephson Junctions made from topological materials, using topological compounds to assist in the detection of dark matter, and exploring the interplay of frustrated magnetism with unconventional topology in exfoliable 2D materials (including spin liquid candidates). These avenues have applications to fundamental electron transport theory, quantum computing, sensors, and energy transmission.

Host Institute: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Discipline: Cell Biology 

may-simera@uni-mainz.de

is a junior professor at the Institute of Molecular Physiology, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Germany.

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Herz- und Lungenforschung, Bad Nauheim

Discipline: Cell Biology

felix.engel@uk-erlangen.de

Felix Engel has been professor at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg since 2012. He received his Diploma in Engineering from the Technical University Berlin in 1996 and completed his doctorate on cell cycle control of mammalian cardiomyocytes in 2001 at the Max Delbrück Centrum for Molecular Medicine, Berlin. Subsequently, he moved to Boston Massachusetts, where he began working as a postdoctoral research fellow on heart regeneration at the Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School and was promoted to Associate Scientific Research and Instructor in Pediatrics. His work in Boston was awarded in 2006 with the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award, which allowed him to set up his own research group for Cardiac Development and Regeneration at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim. He habilitated in Cell and Developmental Biology at the Goethe-University in Frankfurt in 2013.

Host Institute: Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster

Discipline: Geology

ottaviano.ruesch@uni-muenster.de

Scientific research is carried out in the field of planetary science, with particular interest in the nature and evolution of the solid surfaces of Solar System objects. The investigations use laboratory experiments and remote sensing observations by spacecraft. Most of my research work is and has been based on the following space missions and scientific payload: ESA Mars Express, NASA Dawn and ESA ExoMars rover mission (launch in 2022). The laboratory experiment aims at reproducing time-varying physical conditions on airless planetary surfaces, namely temperature variations in high vacuum. My team studies the effects of these conditions are on rock erosion and surface evolution.

Host Institute: Universität Potsdam

Discipline: Electrical Semiconductors, Components, Circuits, Systems

shoai@uni-potsdam.de

My research has a primary interest in the understanding and development of low cost, large area photovoltaic technologies. 

The research is multi-interdisciplinary with a particular focus on the scientific understanding of the charge and spin kinetics and photophysics of organic semiconductors and other carbon-based disordered semiconductors. 

I am currently on a time limited W2 professorship contract at University of Potsdam. Previous to coming to Germany, I gained research experience in Ausyralia, US and UK.

Host Institute: Technische Universität München

Discipline: Artificial Intelligence, Image and Language Processing

leal.taixe@tum.de

Dr. Leal-Taixé is a professor in Computer Science at the Technical University of Munich. Her research interests lie in computer vision and artificial intelligence, specifically, understanding the dynamic world around us through the lens of a camera.

Host Institute: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität Hannover

Discipline: Mechanics

zhuang@ikm.uni-hannover.de

Prof. Xiaoying Zhuang's expertise is in the field of Computational Mechanics and Simulation Technology.  Her methods have been applied to the design of nano composites and nano energy harvesters. Prof. Zhuang has been awarded with several prestigious prizes including Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz Prize from DFG, the Sofja Kovalevskaja Prize from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, the Niedersachsen Scientist Prize, Curious Mind Award from Science Hall of Fame and ERC. She has developed numerous innovative and robust numerical methods including level-set methods, partition-of-unity methods (such as mesh-free methods, XFEM formulations, phantom node methods and finite cover methods), multi-scale methods, phase field models and adaptivity for meshless methods and adaptive methods developed and implemented. She also has experience with coupled (hydro-mechanical, thermo-mechanical, thermo-hydro-mechanical and electro-mechanical) problems, uncertainty analysis / uncertainty quantification as well as inverse methods and optimization processes. She has used her numerical methods to solve complex problems in engineering, geotechnics / geomechanics and materials science. Her research focus funded by the Humboldt Foundation is the modeling, optimization and development of polymer composites.  Her ERC starting grant focuses on the optimization and development of piezoelectric and flexoelectric nano-energy converters. 

Discipline: Plant Genetics

rod.snowdon@agrar.uni-giessen.de

Rod Snowdon studied plant biology and genetics in New Zealand before coming to Germany as a DAAD scholar in 1993 and competing his PhD in Giessen in 1997. Since 2013 he is W3 Professor of Plant Breeding at Justus Liebig University Giessen. He leads a large international research group which interacts strongly with academic and industrial cooperation partners in Germany and abroad. 

Discipline: Atomic Physics, Molecular Physics 

budker@uni-mainz.de

I  am a physicist interested in testing fundamental  symmetries of nature,  exploration of dark matter, sensitive magnetometry with atoms and  color centers in diamond, as well as zero- to ultarlow-field  magnetic resonance.

Discipline: Animal Breeding, Maintenance and Hygiene 

ewolf@lmb.uni-muenchen.de

Eckhard Wolf studied Veterinary Medicine at the LMU Munich, Germany (1982-87). Since 1995 he is Head of the Institute for Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology at the Munich Gene Center, since 2003 Director of the Laboratory for Functional Genome Analysis (LAFUGA), and since Director of the Center for Innovative Medical Models (CiMM), LMU Munich. His lab is specialized in the generation and characterization of genetically engineered pigs as models for human diseases (diabetes mellitus, rare monogenic diseases) and as organ donors for xenotransplantation. E.W. is the spokesperson of the DFG-funded Transregional Collaborative Research Center 127 “Biology of xenogeneic cell, tissue and organ transplantation – from bench to bedside” and Secretary/Treasurer of the International Xenotransplantation Association. E.W. is Member of the German National Academy of Sciences – Leopoldina (since 2000) and Corresponding Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (since 2014). 

Host Institute: Universität Leipzig

Discipline: Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology

jens@meilerlab.org

Proteine sind ein wesentlicher Baustoff allen Lebens: Sie sind entscheidende Bestandteile von Zellen und Geweben, auch Hormone und Antikörper des Immunsystems bestehen aus diesen Eiweißen. Die genaue Vorhersage der Proteinstruktur allerdings stellt die Wissenschaft nach wie vor Herausforderungen. Gängige Verfahren wie Röntgenstrukturanalysen oder spektroskopische Methoden sind zeit- und kostenintensiv – gesucht werden deshalb rechnergestützte Verfahren. Jens Meiler gilt weltweit als führender Experte für diese Forschung an der Schnittstelle von Biologie, Physik, Chemie und Informatik. So hat er beispielsweise wesentlich zur Entwicklung des Programms Rosetta beigetragen, das mittlerweile in Laboren weltweit eingesetzt wird. Mit Rosetta werden Algorithmen entwickelt und getestet, um Proteinstrukturen und -bindungen aus einer Aminosäuresequenz schnell und zuverlässig vorherzusagen. Dies könnte helfen, neue Heilmethoden, etwa für AIDS, Krebs, Malaria oder Virenerkrankungen, zu finden.

vp-v@lmu.de

Dr. Christoph Mülke has been Vice President for Finance & Administration at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich since May 2010. In 2013 and 2018, he was re-elected to this position. 
After studying Classics and Comparative Linguistics in Münster and Tübingen, Dr. Mülke spent a research year at Oxford University, and returned to Tübingen University, where he obtained his doctoral degree in Classics. In 1999, he joined the Office of the German Council of Science and Humanities (“Wissenschaftsrat”) in Cologne. There, Dr. Mülke served in various capacities, including those of Deputy Director of the Department of Higher Education and Research Training. Furthermore, he was Personal Assistant to the Chairperson and Secretary-General. In 2005, he joined LMU as Head of the Strategy Office. 
As Vice President, Dr. Mülke serves as Head of LMU’s Central Academic Services and Administration. He also holds the office of Chief Financial Officer (CFO). 

kanzlerin@rub.de

Christina Reinhardt wurde 1968 in Leinfelden (Baden-Württemberg) geboren. Von 1989 bis 1993 studierte sie Geographie, Soziologie und Raumplanung an der Ruhr-Universität, wo sie 1998 am Lehrstuhl für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsgeographie promoviert wurde. Im Jahr 2000 nahm sie eine erste Tätigkeit in der Verwaltung der RUB auf, als sie in einem Projekt zur Umsetzung des Landesgleichstellungsgesetzes arbeitete. Ab 2001 baute Christina Reinhardt den Bereich Personalentwicklung an der RUB auf und leitete ihn – unter anderem ab 2006 als Leiterin der Stabsstelle des Rektorats „Interne Fortbildung und Beratung“ (IFB). Zwischen Mai 2009 und November 2015 war Dr. Reinhardt Kanzlerin der Hochschule Bochum. Ab dem 1. Dezember 2015 ist sie Kanzlerin der Ruhr-Universität Bochum.

Discipline: Foundations of Pathogenesis, Diagnostics,

Therapy and Clinical Veterinary Medicine

R.Straubinger@lmu.de

Dekan der Tierärztlichen Fakultät, LMU München; Leiter des Lehrstuhls für Bakteriologie und Mykologie; Interessensgebiete Pathogenese bakterieller Infektionskrankheiten; Einsatz moderner Methoden im diagnostischen Umfeld

Host Institute: 

Discipline: Geochemistry (Inorganic, Organic, Biological) 

aeisenhauer@geomar.de

In Heidelberg habe ich Physik/Mathematik von 1982 bis 1987 studiert und am Institut für Umweltphysik 1989 über die Anwendung stabiler und radioaktiver Isotope in den Meereswissenschaften promoviert. Eine intensive Forschungszeit verbrachte ich von 1990 bis 1992 am CALTECH, Pasadena, USA, wo ich die Massenspektrometrie erlernte. Nach meiner Rückkehr nach Deutschland wurde ich Assistent am Geochemischen Institut in Göttingen (1995-1999) bevor ich meinen Ruf als Professor für Marine Geochemie an die Kieler Universität erhielt. Meine Forschungsschwerpunkte gelten den Biomineralisationsprozessen im Ozean. Weiterhin gilt mein Interesse der Entwicklung von Methoden zur Rekonstruktion von Umweltbedingungen (Ozeanwassertemperatur, Säuregrad, etc.) der Vergangenheit und der Rekonstruktion der Höhe des Meeresspiegels. In den letzten Jahren gilt mein Interesse der Anwendung von Isotopenmethoden der Geologie in der medizinischen Diagnostik zur Früherkennung chronischer Krankheiten wie Osteoporose.

Discipline: Astrophysics 

bartelmann@uni-heidelberg.de

Matthias BartelmannTheoretical Physics, Heidelberg UniversityHow did the cosmic structures evolve that we see ourselves embedded in, and why are their phys-ical properties universal over many orders of magnitude in physical scales? These are the mainquestions I am trying to answer. For doing so, I am applying and adapting methods from statisticalquantum field theory to classical particle ensembles. I am part of the STRUCTURES Cluster of Ex-cellence at Heidelberg University, which focusses on methodological similarities between mathem-atics, physics, and computer science and thus forms the ideal environment for this kind of re-search.I have been professor of astrophysics at Heidelberg University since 2003, now at the Institute forTheoretical Physics. I have acted as Dean and vice-Dean of the Department of Physics and Astro-nomy, have been a board member of the German Physical Society (DPG) and the chairman of theCommittee for Research and Strategy of Heidelberg University.

Kerstin.Graetz@medizin.uni-leipzig.de

Ich leite das Referat Forschung der Medizinischen Fakultät der Universität Leipzig. Wir prüfen, bearbeiten, bereiten vor, etc. alle administrativen Vorgänge (Anträge, Verträge, Bescheide, etc.) im Zusammenhang mit Forschung an der Medizinischen Fakultät Leipzig/dem Universitätsklinikum Leipzig.

s.minafra@etl-heimfarth.de

andrea.schaub@uni-tuebingen.de

Dezernentin für Forschung der Universität Tübingen. In meinem bereich liegt die Zuständigkeit für allgemeine Strategieprozesse, Exzellenzstrategie, Forschungsförderung, Nachwuchsförderung, Innovationsmangement, Internationale Forschungskooperationen und Welcome Services.

Host Institute: Fraunhofer-Institut für Biomedizinische Technik (IBMT), Golm

Discipline: Biomaterials
dmitry.volodkin@ntu.ac.uk 

Dmitry Volodkin is Associate Professor at Nottingham Trent University and heads the group Active-Bio-Coatings. He has studied Chemistry at the Lomonosov Moscow State University in Russia and further research stays brought him to France (University of Strasbourg) and Germany (Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, TU Berlin, Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology). His research activities are focused on design of advanced stimuli-responsive biomaterials for applications in tissue engineering, diagnostics, toxicology, drug delivery. His group engineers self-assembled polymer-based 2D and 3D structures with tailor-made properties: multilayer films, microcapsules and beads, liposome-polymer composites, polymeric scaffolds, etc. Dmitry Volodkin has published ca 90 peer-reviewed articles (citations without self-citations >3000) and received prestigious scientific awards such as Sofja Kovalevskaja Award, Richard-Zsigmondy Price, Alexander von Humboldt and Marie Curie Fellowships. He is organizing committee member of a number of conferences and delivered more than 10 plenary/keynote lectures at prestigious conferences and symposia.

Discipline: Quantum Optics 

Dani_Hofstetter@outlook.com

Meine Forschung ist im Wesentlichen im Fachgebiet der Angewandten Festkörperphysik angesiedelt. Etwas spezifischer ausgedrückt werden hierin Probleme der modernen Halbleiter-Optoelektronik behandelt. Dabei decken die wichtigsten Aktivitäten die Erforschung von nitridischen Halbleitermaterialien mit grossem Bandabstand, z.B. GaN oder AlN, ab. Durch den gezielten Einsatz von Inter-Subband-Übergängen ist dabei das Hauptaugenmerk auf die Photonen-Emission und -Absorption im Wellenlängenbereich des nahen Infraroten um 1.55 µm ausgerichtet.

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim an der Ruhr

Discipline: Technical Chemistry

r.rinaldi-sobrinho@imperial.ac.uk

Roberto Rinaldi FRSC is Reader in Applied Chemistry in the Department of Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London. He is the head of the Tomorrow's Chemical Technologies Lab funded by the ERC Consolidator Grant LIGNINFIRST, Project Number: 725762. He studied Chemistry at the State University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil and received his PhD in 2006. A year later, he joined the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung as a postdoctoral research fellow where he became a Junior Group Leader in 2009. In 2010 he received the prestigious Sofja-Kovalevskaja Award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, allowing him to launch his independent research group and develop research on lignin-first biorefining. For his contribution to advanced concepts for dissolution and deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass and lignin-first biorefining, he was awarded the Willi Keim Prize 2014 given by the Advanced Fluids Subject Division of ProcessNet (an initiative of DECHEMA and VDI-GVC). More recently, he joined the International Advisory Board of the journal ChemCatChem and appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is Editor of the RSC book series Energy and Environment Science.

Host Institute: Universität Stuttgart

Discipline: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics

lapo.bogani@materials.ox.ac.uk

Lapo Bogani (LB) studied Chemistry at the University of Florence, where he obtained his PhD in 2006. He then moved to France (CNRS Grenoble) with an individual Marie Curie fellowship and later to Germany (University of Stuttgart) as a Sofja Kovalevskaja fellow in 2010. In 2015 he moved to the University of Oxford, as Royal Society URF fellow with an ERC starting grant and, after being confirmed Professor, he is now developing an ERC Consolidator Grant at the same institution. LB's research focuses on the synthesis and understanding of novel magnetic materials and ways of integrating them into nanodevices. LB’s interests are multidisciplinary, and span from synthesis to instrumentation development, from nanofabrication and ultra-sensitive measurements, to theoretical modelling. The results obtained include the synthesis of slow-relaxing molecular magnetic polymers, the establishing of molecular spintronics, the fabrication of the first magnetic carbon nanomaterials, and the probing of their quantum properties. This work has received numerous prizes, including the Burghen, Oliver Kahn and Nicholas Kurti European Science Prizes. 

Host Institute: Universität Bielefeld

Discipline: Software Technology

cicalese@dia.unisa.it

I am associate professor of the Computer Science dept, at Univ. of Verona (Italy) since 2014. From 2001 to 2014 I was first assistant professor and then associate professor at University of Salerno and from 2004 to 2009 I was research group leader at Bielefeld University as recipient of the 2004 Sofja Kovalevskaja award. My research interests are in the area of algorithms and complexity, (with a special emphasis on combinatorial search algorithms and decision tree construction optimization), information theory and machine learning. I have  published a Springer monograph on fault tolerant search algorithms, in 2011.

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, Garching

Discipline: Astrophysics

P.Schady@bath.ac.uk

After 9, very enjoyable and fullfilling years at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Munich, I moved back to the UK in 2018 to a lectureship position at the University of Bath. I continue working with collaborators at MPE and in less unusual times, have managed to return to Munich 1-2 times a year to visit.

My prime area of research is in the follow-up of gamma ray bursts (GRBs) and their host galaxies. GRBs are incredibly energetic events that can be seen out to very far distances. The undeniable link between long GRBs and massive stars thus makes them effective and unique probes of the interstellar properties of star forming galaxies in the young Universe.

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Kognitions- und Neurowissenschaften, Leipzig

Discipline: General, Biological and Mathematical Psychology

triciastriano@gmail.com

I study the development of human infants, with a focus on social cognitive development in the first year. In recent years I have started to explore the impact of Biophilic Design on infant and child cognition. I enjoy entrepreneurship and getting research out of the lab and into the living room with the brand, AisforBanana®. In addition, I am passionate about assisting students (gap year etc.) make more relevant connections, especially with small international companies. My time in Germany afforded me opportunity to meet so many diverse people and inspired this brand. Zwei Fliegen mit einer Klappe schlagen - By providing meaningful training and connections, ZWIFLY® solves a problem for the small company and for the student. We are always seeking innovative university and company partnerships. I am passionate about helping students make more meaningful connections early in their academic careers. With this goal, I founded the brand, ZWIFLY® to better train and connect students with more meaningful international opportunity.I currently serve as a research ambassador for DAAD. I live in New York City - but prefer Leipzig where I had the honor of doing world class research. I am a Full Professor (with Habilitation from University Osnabrück) and teach cognitive development, developmental research methodology and entrepreneurship. I would be delighted to develop new connections and opportunity in Germany. 

Gabriele.Drexler@Verwaltung.Uni-Muenchen.DE

Discipline: Developmental and Educational Psychology

rektor@rub.de

Discipline: Molecular Neuroscience and Neurogenetics

robert.kumsta@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

rebecca.rock@med.uni-tuebingen.de

Host Institute: Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Discipline: Theoretical Physics

maxim.polyakov@tp2.ruhr-uni-bochum.de

judith.winkler@bmbf.bund.de

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Mathematik in den Naturwissenschaften, Leipzig

Discipline: Statistical Physics, Soft Matter, Biological Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics

matteo.smerlak@gmail.com

Host Institute: Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Discipline: Theoretical Philosophy

hitoshiomori@gmail.com

Host Institute: Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT)

Discipline: Experimental Condensed Matter Physics

ioan.pop@kit.edu

Host Institute: Universität Duisburg-Essen

Discipline: Biochemie

doris.hellerschmied@uni-due.de

Host Institute: GEOMAR Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel

Discipline: Animal Ecology, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Research

ebriski@geomar.de

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Biophysik, Frankfurt

Discipline: Biophysics

misha.kudryashev@biophys.mpg.de

Host Institute: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Discipline: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies

jimenez@lrz.uni-muenchen.de

Host Institute: Technische Universität München

Discipline: Theoretical Solid-State Physics, Energy Materials

david.egger@tum.de

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Genetik, Berlin

Discipline: Modern and Current History

aydan.bulut@gmail.com

Host Institute: Universität Bayreuth

Discipline: Composite Materials

zhong.zhang@nanoctr.cn

Host Institute: Universität Bayreuth

Discipline: Mineralogy, Crystallography

tiziana.boffa-ballaran@uni-bayreuth.de

Host Institute: Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Discipline: Animal Ecology, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Research

jan-arend.degraaf@ruhr-uni-bochum.de

Host Institute: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Discipline: Analysis, Differential Equations

benjamin.schlein@math.uzh.ch

Host Institute: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz

Discipline: Analytical Chemistry, Method Development

barskiy@berkeley.edu

Dr. Danila Barskiy was born in Russia where he attended Novosibirsk State University, completing his doctorate there. In 2015, he moved to the United States, initially as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Imaging Science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2017, he relocated to the University of California, Berkeley, as a postdoctoral associate. Danila Barskiy has been granted, amongst others, the Medal of the Russian Academy of Sciences for young scientists and, in 2018, the Berkeley Postdoctoral Association’s Postdoctoral Development Award. 

Host Institute: Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg

Discipline: Astrophysics and Astronomy

gregorymgreen@gmail.com

My research focuses on the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way. I use large surveys of stellar photometry (flux in broad passbands), astrometry (parallax and motion of stars across the sky) and spectroscopy to infer the properties and distribution both of stellar populations and interstellar dust throughout our Galaxy. By measuring the distribution of stars and dust, one can measure the distribution of baryonic matter in the Milky Way. However, stellar kinematics allow one to measure the distribution of total mass (both baryonic and dark) in the Milky Way. A comparison of these two measurements has the potential to give information about the distribution of dark matter throughout our Galaxy. A second focus of my research is mapping the 3D distribution of interstellar dust, which is both important to understanding star formation, and a critical foreground contaminant for a wide range of astronomical observations. Finally, I am interested in Bayesian inference and machine learning.

Host Institute: Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Discipline: Radiology and Nuclear Medicine

Andre.Martins@med.uni-tuebingen.de

Dr. Andre Martins' team (nicknamed the HyperM&Ms) is interested in understanding relevant paradigms in human pathology and physiology through accurate non-invasive biomedical imaging. The team uses highly translational molecular and metabolic imaging approaches to determine the role of metabolism in different diseases in vivo. The research is innovative, multidisciplinary, and is placed at the intersection of several scientific fields in oncology, biomedical imaging, and fundamental sciences (biophysics, biochemistry, chemistry). The team is also interested in developing the next generation of non-invasive hybrid metabolic sensors for biomedical imaging. 

"We aim to identify accurate metabolic imaging biomarkers, e.g., in cancer, cancer senescence, diabetes, stroke, inflammation, and immunology. Our lab's multidisciplinary research combines state-of-art and advanced hybrid imaging that allows for accurate and personalized detection of disease and therapy response," says Andre.

Host Institute: Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen

Discipline: Plant Breeding

agolicz@gmail.com

I hail from Krakow, Poland. I completed my degree in Molecular Genetics at the University of Dundee, PhD in Bioinformatics at the University of Queensland and Post-Doc at the University of Melbourne.
I study plant genomes using high performance computing aiming to uncover the genetic basis of agronomic traits like yield and stress tolerance.
The project funded by the Sofja Kovalevskaja award will investigate the role of genetic variants and 3D genome organization in gene regulation in canola. While all plants from a species carry similar genes, factors which control variability in gene expression contribute to the differences in how plants look and behave. I hope that understanding those will help develop new, improved crop types.
My host is Professor Rod Snowdon at Justus Liebig University Giessen. I will be moving to Germany with my husband Paul who is a lecturer in Plant Biotechnology and our five month old daughter Annabelle. We are very much looking forward to our new home!

Host Institute: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München 

Discipline: Animal Genetics, Cell and Developmental Biology

ma_almeida@hotmail.com

I earned my D.V.M. at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2010 and a master’s in animal breeding and reproductive technologies at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, in 2013. During my Ph.D. at Utrecht University (Netherlands), I have focused on becoming an expert on 3-D reproductive organs-on-a-chip to advance the knowledge of reproductive biology. I joined the Smithsonian National Zoo in 2017, where my research focus was to use organs-on-a-chip to study reproductive biology of domestic and wild carnivores. I also investigated how cellular communication via extracellular vesicles can be used to improve gamete cryopreservation, oocyte maturation, sperm capacitation and embryo development in these species. The overall focus of my research is to investigate how cell communication, via extracellular vesicles and organs-on-a-chip, can be incorporated into assisted reproductive technologies to improve embryo development in vitro.

Host Institute: Universität Leipzig

Discipline: Immunology

torben.schiffner@outlook.com

Rational immunogen design
I was born and raised in Germany but have studied and worked in the UK and the USA for the past 11 years. My research evolves around the development of next-generation vaccines. When first encountering a new pathogen or vaccine, the immune system creates antibodies that specifically recognize and ideally inactivate the pathogen, thus providing protection from future infection. Each vaccine induces hundreds of different types of antibodies, which vary widely in their effectiveness, with many being non-protective or, in rare cases, even harmful. 
My research uses rational protein design to develop vaccines that very selectively target one specific type of antibody. When combined with the latest insights into the precise mechanisms of the immune system, this technology could be used to generate vaccines against many types of pathogens that have eluded traditional vaccine development, such as HIV, Hepatitis C and known and unknown variants of Coronaviruses.

Host Institute: Ruhr-Universität Bochum

Discipline: Differential Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Medical Psychology, Methods

mar.rus-calafell@rub.de

My name is Mar Rus-Calafell, I am a clinical psychologist and researcher. I was born in the beautiful island of Mallorca (Spain), but I have been living and working in the United Kingdom for the last 7 years. My research focus through my clinical and research career is the understanding and treatment of mental health disorders, and psychosis specifically, and the application of digital technologies to improve assessment and treatment of these disorders. With the support of the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award I aim to produce undiscovered youth-based knowledge that allows researchers and clinicians to better understand how psychotic experiences influence the development of severe psychopathology and need for care in later stages of youth and adulthood.

Besides my affiliation with the Humboldt Foundation I continue research on the history of Russian philosophy in the German context, most recently I co-edited the special issue “Philosophy of Right in Russia” of the journal “Russian Studies in Philosophy” (vol. 58, no. 1, 2020) by Taylor & Francis Group. 

In my role as an internal auditor, I am providing the Secretary General of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation with independent assessments on the effectiveness and efficiency of the Foundations’ internal and external activities and operations. 

In addition to my auditing responsibilities, I am highly interested in organizational value creation and how it can become more sustainable - an interest which I also combine with the research I continue to do in the field of social neuroscience.