Linh Dang specialises in computer science with a passion for machine learning methods and their applications to Bioinformatics. His PhD research at the University of Göttingen focused on applying supervised machine learning to study protein’s properties such as DNA-binding sites or protein-protein interaction sites. Additionally, he is also interested in graph-based inferences to investigate how protein’s conformations change. In his free time, he likes watching Ted talks and science shows. His hobby is mountain hiking.

Tobias Kahland did his PhD research at the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research (DPZ) and the Central Institute for Experimental Animals (CIEA) in Kawasaki, Japan, about transgenesis and gene modification in the common marmoset. After some time away from academia he is back working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Deutsches Primatenzentrum in the Platform Degenerative Diseases, focusing on Assisted Reproductive Technologies  (ART) and genetic modification in the common marmoset.
Outside of work he likes to spend time at the sea for scuba diving or kite surfing and explore the outdoors while hiking or cycling.

Tobias Pöhnl is a Food Technologist, currently working at the group of Quality and Sensory of Plant Products at the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Göttingen. He obtained his PhD at the University of Hohenheim (Stuttgart) in 2019. His academic interest is the technological and sensorial value of primary and secondary plant metabolites as well as their synthesis and accumulation in agricultural systems. The analysis and identification of those compounds by chromatographic methods demands most of his time. Currently bitter compounds in the context of sustainable production of tasty food for the future are of particular interest.

When he is not working you can find him outdoors running or cycling, maybe at a marathon nearby. Holidays are best spent hiking or mountaineering anywhere between Norway and the Austrian Alps. For relaxation, he enjoys good food, wine and movies or a board game with friends.

Stefanie is an art historian working on late antique and medieval religious art. She is a researcher and lecturer at the Art History Department of the University of Göttingen. At the moment, Stefanie’s research focus is on theological reflections on images at times of heresy. She also works on the collecting of religious material culture in 19th and 20th century museums and universities. Stefanie received her DPhil at the University of Oxford in 2019, where she wrote a dissertation on the subject of baptismal art and identity construction in the late antique Western Mediterranean. In the book, she investigates the surprising practice of 5th and 6th century Christian communities to baptize in spaces in which Roman pre-Christian visual and material culture was presented as completely Christian. Until 2018, Stefanie worked as a curator at the British Museum. During this time, she was the lead-curator of the exhibition Imagining the Divine. Art and the Rise of World Religions (Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 10/2017-2/2018) that showed parallels, differences and interconnections in the development of early Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish imagery in the first millennium. Before coming to Göttingen, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Art History department of the University of Bern, and spent some time as a fellow at the RomanIslam Center of the University of Hamburg.

Mark Bates is a bio-physicist working in the Department of Optical Nanoscopy at the Institute for Nanophotonics, Göttingen (IFNANO).  Mark's research area is super-resolution fluorescence microscopy, with a particular focus on the use of optical microscopes to resolve the nano-scale architecture of protein complexes.  Originally from Canada, Mark earned his doctorate in Applied Physics at Harvard University (USA) before moving to Göttingen to work at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, and later at the IFNANO.  Mark was an EMBO Postdoctoral fellow, and his research was awarded the 2010 GE & Science Prize for young life scientists, and the Method of the Year (2008) from Nature Methods.  When he’s not in the lab, Mark is a travel and hiking enthusiast, and enjoys winter sports such as skiing, skating, and curling.

Dingsu Feng works as a Postdoc at the Geosciences Centre, geochemistry and isotope department of the University of Göttingen, hired by University of Cologne. Her research focuses mainly on the stable oxygen isotope analysis on PO4. She did her PhD at the University of Göttingen on the topic “Triple Oxygen Isotope analysis of Bioapatite”, namely the tooth enamel, which were used as a new proxy to reconstruct the Paleo CO2 concentration. Currently, she continues the PO4 research on soil and plants.

In her free time, she is either in the gym or playing badminton with her beloved ASC4 team players. In her holidays, she is always traveling overseas, meeting new people, getting to know different cultures and exploring the wonderful world. 

Jimena Davila Gallesio is a molecular biologist interested in RNA life. In 2019 she obtained her PhD degree from the University of Göttingen for her work studying RNA helicases and ribosome biogenesis. Currently she works as a postdoc at the Department of Molecular Biology of the University Medical CenterGöttingen (UMG). As a postdoc she stepped a bit away from the lab bench: she is mainly responsible for lab management, student supervision and teaching. In this role, but also as a member of the Postdoc Committee, she takes the chance to assist colleagues and peers in their everyday work. She puts special effort in creating and maintaining healthy and productive work environments.
When she is not in the lab, she enjoys meeting with friends for coffee, reading and knitting colorful things.

Christine Mau is a developmental biologist working in the Department of Evolutionary Developmental Genetics at the Göttingen Center for Molecular Biology (GZMB). She did her PhD at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg on the topic ‘Cis-regulation of Segmentation Genes in Insects’ and obtained her degree in 2022. Afterwards, she conducted an eight-month research stay as postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia (USA). In October 2023, she started as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Göttingen studying brain development and evolution in insects. Her research focuses on the analysis of the evolution of neuronal cell types at the single cell level. During her time off, she enjoys nature, cooking, and traveling.

Lizhen Chen earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Hamburg in 2022. Afterward, she commenced her early career as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Wood Technology and Wood-based Composites at the University of Göttingen in September 2022. Her primary research focuses on developing sustainable wood-based nanochannels for energy-harvesting devices. In addition, her research experience and interests include synthesizing hybrid materials designed for applications in biomimicking, hydrogen evolution reactions, and photoelectrochemical processes, as well as solid-state nanopores/nanochannels science and bio-sensing applications. Her academic journey has endowed her with a wealth of experience in lecturing and collaborating with international partners.
In her spare time, she enjoys reading and playing sports like badminton and table tennis, swimming, and dancing.

Anas Emad is a micrometeorologist in the Bioclimatology group at the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology. His work focuses on the surface-atmosphere exchanges of stable isotopes and other atmospheric constituents, aiming to deepen our understanding of biosphere-atmosphere interactions. Originally from Syria, where he earned his engineering degree, Anas completed his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) at the University of Göttingen. He spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), developing instruments and metrological methods for measuring stable isotopes of green house gases using optical techniques. Anas returned to Göttingen to join the ISO-SCALE project, which is dedicated to understanding the water cycle through stable water isotopes. In his free time, Anas enjoys cooking, photography, and exploring nature.

Layla Engelhardt is an agriculture and food scientist interested in post-harvest processes in plant products. In the division of Quality and Sensory of Plant Products she started as a PhD student in 2019 with a focus on “Thermal processing and storage effects on antioxidant plant compounds and their interaction in model experiments and plant matrices” and since 2023 she has continued her research as a postdoc with focus on interactions of phenolic compounds within different carbohydrate-rich food matrices.
Outside of work, she likes to be in nature hiking, enjoying life with a good book, or exploring foreign countries and their cultures.

Komal Bhattacharyya is a theoretical biophysicist. She uses theoretical and computational tools to understand and explain different Physical properties of biological systems. Currently, she is working in the institute for dynamic complex Systems in the physics faculty of Gottingen University on understanding the mechanical properties of cell cytoskeleton. She did her PhD in biophysics from the Max Plack Institute of Dynamic and Self-organisation, Gottingen, after completing her master's in physics from India. 
She is also passionate about science communication and hopes to see an increased diversity in academia. She wants to make sure academia is a friendly and welcoming place for everyone. 
In her free time, she loves to cook and play board games with her friends, reading, dancing and exploring new cities and cultures.

Madhura Ketkar explores how the tiny brains of fruit flies take courtship-related decisions. She is based at the European Neuroscience Institute (ENI), located in the north campus. Prior to this postdoc project, Madhura completed her MSc and PhD as a student of the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Neurosciences, Göttingen. Part of her PhD research was conducted at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz.

While Madhura is familiar with Göttingen, she is new to the GC Postdoc Network. As a first step, she plans to improve the visibility of the GC Postdoc Network's events, so that every postdoc who could benefit from them will be aware of them. In her free time, Madhura goes with the flow - wander in nature if the weather permits; get cozy with board games or play Indian flute otherwise.

Michela Audisio did her PhD at the Faculty of Forest Science and Forest Ecology at University of Göttingen about the role of mycorrhizal fungi in the nutritional physiology of trees, within the framework of the progect “EnriCo – Enrichment of European beech forests with conifers” (RTG 2300). She is currently working as a postdoc in the same project, where she uses a multi-disciplinary approach to synthetize the data gathered by the different sub-projects of the RTG. In detail, the main research foci are the impact of climate change, in particular drought, on ecosystem functionality in pure and mixed forests, and the responses of biodiversity to forest composition at different levels. Her expertise includes biodiversity conservation, molecular biology, tree physiology, mycorrhizal fungi ecology, forest ecology, teaching and supervision. Nature is her greatest passion, she loves to be surrounded by plants, not only in the forest but also in her office and at home. Outside work, she likes Salsa dancing, traveling and spending time with friends.

Inna Safianova is a dedicated researcher currently working at the Department of Inorganic Chemistry at Göttingen University. Her research focuses on developing catalysts for CO2 reduction, addressing one of the most pressing challenges in sustainable chemistry. Inna completed her PhD at Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv, Ukraine, where she synthesized and investigated Metallacrown complexes for their potential applications. After her doctoral studies, she spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Szeged, concentrating on the solution chemical characterization of hydroxamate complexes.Throughout her academic journey, Inna has built a broad network through numerous internships and collaborations, consistently demonstrating her eagerness to learn and expand her expertise. Outside of her research, Inna enjoys spending time in nature, meeting new people, exploring different cultures, participating in sports and traveling.

Hyojin Kim (Jin) is a neuroscientist working at the Göttingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks (CIDBN) and a guest researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI-DS). Her research focuses on molecular dynamics to investigate the evolutionary origins of brains, using ctenophores (comb jellies) as a model, in collaboration with experimentalists at the Michael Sars Centre for Marine Biology at the University of Bergen, Norway.

Before coming to Göttingen, she completed a joint MSc program at the University of Zürich and ETH Zürich, followed by a PhD at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). During this time, she developed a broad skill-set in neuroinformatics, neuroimaging techniques, and behavioral research.

Through these international and multidisciplinary experiences, she became interested in science communication. She believes that many fascinating research topics could benefit from greater public exposure and, in turn, contribute more meaningfully to society. For this, in March 2025, she initiated a science communication network. Outside of work, she enjoys crocheting cute animals and filling her home with plants.

Edwin Schenkel is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology and a licensed Psychological Psychotherapist (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) at the Therapie—and Beratungszentrum (TBZ) of the Georg-Elias-Mueller-Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen. He earned his PhD from Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands, in 2025. In his PhD, he examined the clinical effectiveness of a computerized cognitive training, aiming to modify automatic approach-avoidance tendencies, given as an add-on to regular inpatient treatment for alcohol use disorder, with the overarching aim to support relapse prevention after treatment. In his postdoc, Edwin continues to measure and modify cognitive biases, focusing on interpretational processing biases in emotional psychopathology. Next to this, he works as a psychotherapist at the TBZ. Outside work, he likes to travel, explore cultures, bouldering, enjoy good food and coffee, movies, play the piano, and read.

Yehan Bian is a biologist working at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG). She has a broad interest in endocrinology, neuroscience and developmental biology. Her current research focuses on the hormone regulation mechanisms in the pituitary gland and their contribution to hormone disorders. She obtained her PhD at the RWTH Aachen University, where she studied mechanisms of motor neuron heterogeneity. 
Beyond her research, Yehan loves food, nature and scuba diving.

Julian Bergau is a Postdoc at the Faculty of Theology specializing in New Testament studies, and an ordained pastor of the Lutheran church. Analysing and interpreting texts is his passion that he likes to combine with a keen interest in interdisciplinary dialogue and perspectives – and he finds the Göttingen campus an excellent place to do so! Throughout the year, he enjoys hiking in the nearby forests, and is always ready to engage in a football match (or in lively discussions around that wonderful game!).

Kartikay Sharma is a structural biologist specializing in the structural determination of proteins, their complexes, and protein aggregates using cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). He got his PhD from Ulm University in Germany, where his research focused on the cryo-EM structural analysis of protein aggregates, amyloid fibrils, associated with various neurodegenerative diseases. Currently, he is a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, where he investigates the structural mechanisms underlying the initiation of autophagy. 
Outside the lab, Kartikay enjoys listening to music and singing, traveling, hiking, and playing both video and board games with friends.

Valerio Gentile is an archaeologist specializing in the Bronze Age and Iron Age of Europe, with an emphasis on material culture studies. His main interest is armed conflict in pre-state societies, exploring its practical, ideological, and social implications. He also studies metalwork circulation and deposition during the Bronze Age. He is also actively involved in the refinement of microscopic analysis and experimental archaeology approaches to the study of metal artifacts.  Currently, Valerio is researching the patterns of use and deposition of Bronze Age weapons in Germany and Central Europe at the Seminar für Ur- und Frühgeschichte.