Biography

I grew up and obtained my BSc in Molecular Bioscience in Austria, a country where education is free. Realising the privilege of that, I am a strong advocate for just access to and distribution of resources, including the research produced in world-leading institutions such as Cambridge University. I want to use the opportunities that have been given to me to the benefit of other people. During my master’s degree in Systems Biology at the University of Heidelberg, I found in infectious disease research a scientific field which allows me to do that. In my PhD, I will use a computational model of the humoral immune response to investigate how prior and novel immunity interact upon exposure to evolving pathogens to improve vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2 and influenza. The past years demonstrated vaccines as the most potent tool for virus disease management, but more so that global crises cannot be thought in isolation. The COVID-19 pandemic took a disproportionate toll on the Global South, low-income households, and women, reinforcing traditional gender roles and thereby the dual burden of women. With my PhD work I aim to contribute to alleviating this toll.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Biological Sciences 2022
University of Heidelberg Molecular Biosciences 2021
Universitat Wien Bioinformatics 2018