Intern
    International Symposium organized by the Students of the Graduate School of Life Sciences

    Career Session

    Dr. Burkhardt Laufer

    Senior Project Director at Ascendis Pharma


    Burkhardt Laufer studied chemistry at the Technische Universität München (TUM) where he also obtained his PhD in the field of medicinal chemistry focusing on the synthesis of highly active and selective peptides and peptidomimetics. Upon his graduation, he transitioned to San Diego to join the group of M.G. Finn at the Scripps Research Institute, working on conjugation towards the surface of virus like particles and plant viruses. In 2012 he moved back to Germany to join Ascendis Pharma, where he currently holds a position as Senior Project Director in the research department. Burkhardt Laufer is the co-author of more than 15 peer reviewed publications and co-inventor for more than a dozen patent applications.

    		 

    Dr. Annika Kreikenbohm

    AR & VR Developer, Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg

    Annika Kreikenbohm studied physics at the Christian-Albrechts University Kiel (CAU) and Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg (JMU) where she also obtained her PhD in the field of astronomy. During various research stays during her master and PhD at the European Space Agency (ESA) in Madrid, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Washington and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Munich she focused on multiwavelength observations of active galaxies and expanded her skills in data analysis and machine learning. Additionally, during her PhD she also studied communication design at the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt (FHWS) and dove into the field of science communication and interactive design. Since 2019 she works as AR & VR developer at the JMU Würzburg. By combining principles of both fields, research and design, she creates award winning scientific visualization for scientific analysis and science communication. 

    		  

    Anke Sparmann, PhD

    Scientific Writer, Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Würzburg

    Anke Sparmann obtained her Ph.D. at the State University of New York at Stony Brook (USA), where she studied the interplay between tumor growth and inflammation. During a post-doctoral period at the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam, her work focused on chromatin dynamics during stem cell differentiation. In 2012, she started a career as scientific editor at The EMBO Journal, transitioning to the editorial team of Nature Communications in 2013. Since 2016, Anke worked as senior editor at Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, until she joined the HIRI in September 2021, where she supports researchers during grant applications, manuscript preparation and the publication process.