Directory

"Can we print a functional intestine?" This was my first question when I saw how living cells were printed with a 3D printer. It's perhaps oddly specific, but due to Hirschsprung disease, a large part of my intestine was removed when I was a baby, and I spent countless days in the hospital. Therefore, I know how advances in science and technology can dramatically increase patients' quality of life, and these experiences formed my research interest. I first studied physics engineering at the RheinMain University, and then, during my Masters at the University of Freiburg, I fell in love with the field of biofabrication, which also led me to research at Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School. In Cambridge, I will investigate how we can utilize bioprinting to fabricate multi-organ-on-chip systems which potentially can be used for personalized medicine. Next to science, I am passionate about higher-education politics. I believe everybody, regardless of their social and economic background, should have the same opportunities for an education, which is simply not the case yet. I am incredibly honored to join the Gates Cambridge community and deeply grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for their support.

Previous Education

Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg Microsystems Engineering 2022
Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM) Physics Engineering 2018

Ever since my internship at the German embassy in Tajikistan in 2018, I have been fascinated by the cultural and linguistic blend of post-colonial and post-Soviet Central Asia. Building on my training as a lawyer and Slavicist from Berlin, Freiburg (both Germany), St. Petersburg (Russia), and Krakow (Poland), my research explores how international lawyers addressed the Russian colonization of Central Asia. To answer this question, I examine 19th-century legal scholarship and diplomacy pertaining to the Russian conquest of Central Asia and the status of non-Western entities under international law more broadly. While the focus is on Russian debates, I treat them as an integral part of the global history of international law and colonialism by including voices from Europe, the Americas and Asia as well. My research offers the first in-depth analysis of the legal dimension of the Russian colonization of Central Asia, yielding insights on persistent inequalities in contemporary international law and Russian neocolonialism. When not leafing through historical law journals or digging in archives, I teach and advocate the rights of refugees and migrants and enjoy cultural diversity by diving into the realm of multilingual pop music.

Previous Education

University of Freiburg Slavonic Philology (MA) 2023
University of Freiburg Russian and German Studies (BA) 2021
University of Freiburg Law (First State Examination) 2020

As a medical physicist, I enjoy solving problems at the intersection of disciplines. During my MPhil with the Cambridge computational radiotherapy group, I used deformable image registration to investigate discrepancies between planned and delivered dose to the spinal cord for head-and-neck cancer patients, and correlated delivered dose with Lhermitte’s Sign toxicity. My PhD project will focus on adaptive radiotherapy, which entails adapting cancer treatment plans to patients’ changing anatomies over the course of treatment. I will be developing and evaluating machine learning and deep learning methods to predict and minimise errors between registered CT images. I am also interested in the use of generative models to enhance the quality of cone-beam CT scans, such that they can be used directly for plan adaptation. This research will hopefully enable and enhance adaptive radiotherapy workflows in the clinic, and contribute towards personalised and precision medicine. Having worked in the education and public policy sectors in Singapore, I am also passionate about democratising STEM education and improving access to career guidance for youths. Outside of work, I can be found exploring far-flung corners of the world with my camera.