Our Purpose
As representatives of PhD students and Postdocs within the TRR 274, our goal is to ensure that our needs are met and our concerns are addressed. We offer opportunities to influence the structure and content of retreats, workshops, and career development activities. Our responsibilities include:
- Offering guidance and support to PhD students and Postdocs, particularly those new to the TRR 274.
- Acting as a point of contact for feedback, questions, and suggestions, ensuring that PhD student and Postdoc issues are formally communicated to the TRR 274 Board.
- Organizing the annual Young Investigator Retreat, which provides valuable opportunities for networking, career development, and strengthening the TRR 274 community.
- Helping to conceptualize and organize public outreach events that engage with a broader audience, promoting science communication and community involvement.
- Gathering ideas from the community regarding educational and extracurricular activities, which we will forward to the TRR 274 Board for discussion and implementation.
Sounds interesting?
Reach out and join the conversation!
Get to know us
Current Members:
Annika Meilin Schmidke.
Annika is currently doing her PhD in the lab of Prof. Francesca Odoardi and Prof. Alexander Flügel in the Department of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis in Göttingen. In her PhD project, she is investigating the role of the lung and its specific characteristics during different phases of CNS autoimmunity, specifically during the initiation and recovery phase of the disease. In her free time, she enjoys discovering new places, spending time with friends cooking, playing board games or simply relaxing with a good book.
Estibaliz Maudes García
Esti, originally from the Basque Country, Spain, completed her PhD in Barcelona on autoimmune encephalitis. She recently moved to Germany where she is an ECTRIMS Postdoctoral Fellow in Prof. Weber’s lab at the University Medical Center of Göttingen. In her current project, she is studying the role of regulatory B cells in Multiple Sclerosis. Outside of the lab, she loves dancing, getting lost in a good book, and spending time with her cat!
Maria Fernanda Martinez Reza
Fernanda is a PhD student in Magdalena Götz’s lab at the Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. Originally from Mexico, she moved to Europe to pursue her passion for science, having previously conducted research in Lausanne and Vienna. Currently, her work focuses on neuronal transplantation after brain injury, specifically investigating the neuron-glia interactions that emerge between newly transplanted neurons and the adult reactive brain environment. In her spare time, Fernanda enjoys origami, learning to play the violin, and exploring watercolors.
Simona Vitale
Simona Vitale, originally from Italy, is currently pursuing her PhD with Dr. Stefan Berghoff (TUM) in Mikael Simons lab (TUM) in Munich. Her research project aims to explore the inflammatory molecular checkpoints in microglia driving the shift from adaptive and reparative function to maladaptive state, contributing to the chronicity of demyelinating diseases. During her free time, she loves travelling, playing volleyball, and practicing her passion for photography.
Yi-Heng Tai
Yi-Heng is originally from Taiwan and has a background in pharmacy. She came to Munich for her PhD in the labs of Martin Kerschensteiner (LMU) and Thomas Misgeld (TUM), in which she focused on studying mitochondrial pathology in multiple sclerosis and its animal model. She is continuing her research as a postdoc, further exploring how inflammation-driven metabolic dysfunction affects neuronal morphology and function. Outside of the lab, she has fully embraced life in Munich. She is passionate about traveling and baking.
Alexander Busch
Antonia Macioszek
Sarah Dybowski
Silke Häusser-Kinzel
YI Representatives Alumni:
- Daniela Beckmann – AG Kerschensteiner
- Lena Lößlein – AG Rothammer
- Michael Haberl – AG Flügel
- Kolja Meier – AG Gärtner
