Careers

"I am Isabell and participated in the BMB program from 2017 to 2019. Prior to that I did my Bachelor studies in biology at the university of Bielefeld, Germany.

I got to know the master program due to a recommendation from a former student and I do not regret to have taken his advise studying in the BMB program. I especially appreciate my time in Bremen because of the small group size accompanied by a friendly studying atmosphere in which everyone is in close contact. Additionally it is a great benefit to be able to easily and quickly approach and communicate with professors, making the whole studying experience very individual.

During my time I got a broad but also detailed overview of all biochemical disciplines, where I liked most the included extra programs like biophysics, taught by professors from different departments. It gives you the chance to network and get a better overview of the university landscape.
It was one of these extra courses, where I discovered my favourite topic computational biophysics. I was able to explorer this special field during a lab rotational in the group of Prof. Colombi Ciacchi (HMI) for 6 weeks. During that time i learned how to use software packages to integrate the laws of motions to describe the movement of atoms on molecular timescales; e.g. used to derive functional mechanisms from protein movements.

After finishing my MSc thesis on the study of glycosylation by mass spectrometry, I decided to perform my PhD in the HMI group in Bremen, asI was able to continue my Master thesis project there, using the computational methods to study my model more in detail.

Nowadays, I am very glad to be able to combine my experimental skills with newly learned computational techniques, making a perfect combination, which is actually more and more common in the biochemical community. My daily life as a PhD student is to compute the motion of biological systems, analysing large data sets with programming packages like Python and drawing conclusion from data derived from wet-lab experiments and simulations.

Overall, the BMB program takes you on an exciting journey through the world of up-to-date science, emphasising you to always learn new methods and broaden your horizon. I made a lot of new friends and experiences and was actually able to travel to India with one of my classmates, meeting her family and get to know this very interesting culture. BMB does not only takes you forward scientifically but also personally, living and learning in a diverse, international environment."

"My name is Hazem Ibrahim, I graduated as a pharmacist from Cairo University in Egypt.

I have always wanted to pursue a career in academia. Being passionate about biochemistry, molecular biology and microbiology, I found the perfect program to be enrolled in for my master’s degree in Bremen. Such a well-structured curriculum and great mentors that allowed me to broaden my horizons and expand my knowledge theoretically and practically.

I also made great friends with my classmates and had loads of fun during our studies.

The program allows you to do two lab rotations, I was extremely interested in Kathrin Maedler's work and decided to join her lab for the first rotation where I enjoyed working on molecular pathways of beta-cell failure in diabetes. Following the first lab rotation, we had a poster session where I proudly received the best poster prize. For my second lab rotation, I wanted to use genome-editing tools to study diabetes and I joined Timo Otonkoski's lab in Helsinki University. I continued working on diabetes disease modelling using stem cells for my Master thesis that was supervised by Timo Otonkoski and Kathrin Maedler.

After I defended my Master thesis and topped my class, I decided to pursue my doctoral studies in Finland.

In November 2020, I published my first shared-first author article in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, where we identified 6 patients having homozygous mutations in YIPF5 gene with neonatal diabetes and microcephaly. We combined the technologies of human embryonic stem cells and genome editing to introduce a patient-specific-mutation into our control stem cells, and then differentiated the mutant and control stem cells into beta-cells. The mutant beta-cells displayed proinsulin accumulation, increased ER stress and impaired C-peptide secretion after implanting them in immunocompromised mice.

Our work highlights the value of investigating rare forms of monogenic diabetes to uncover mechanisms essential for beta-cell function."

The article was featured on the cover of JCI's December 2020 issue.