Team

Mahum is a second year PhD student who is particularly interested in bacterial cultivation. Her aim is to maintain pure cultures of environmental isolates and see how they respond to changing conditions. She has a Bachelors in Marine Biology with Oceanography from the University of Liverpool and a Masters in Marine Microbiology from the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology. She also works with different student representatives to increase representation and collaboration in science between students from different backgrounds.

Laura has been working on her doctoral thesis since December 2024, investigating sugar uptake mechanisms in marine environmental samples. She is particularly interested in the relationship between bacterial sugar degradation and the carbon cycle.

Under what environmental conditions does “selfish sugar degradation” occur? How does this vary globally?

Do selfish microorganisms have specific proteins that are responsible for this mechanism?

Nahja has been working on her doctoral thesis since August 2025, investigating the abiotic and biotic factors that influence the sugar uptake mechanisms of marine bacteria.

She is particularly interested in the relationship between sugar uptake and carbon storage.

Under what laboratory conditions does “selfish sugar degradation” occur, and can this mechanism be triggered?

Do selfish bacteria store sugar and thus play a very important role in the marine carbon cycle?

Gregor began work on his doctoral dissertation in January 2026 and is primarily interested in the effects of abiotic factors on selfish glycan degradation. In his research, he is focusing on two very different marine environments: To investigate how increased underwater pressure affects selfish sugar degradation, he is studying conditions similar to those found in the deep sea. To address the question of whether oxygen (or its absence) plays a role, he is studying shallow coastal waters.