Former Members and Visiting Students

Michael Monaghan

Michael was an exchange doctoral student from the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG). He performed key experiments at the Fraunhofer/Tubingen Attract Group as part of his PhD thesis supported by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO). He graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor in Biomedical Engineering, and spent one year as a research associate with a start-up medical device company. His PhD focuses on using natural biomaterials as delivery platforms of silencing RNA (siRNA). Specifically, he is focusing on modulating dehabilitating fibrosis in dermal scarring and also in myocardial remodelling. He enjoys running, mountain climbing, reading and travelling. Michael has returned to his home lab, but may return to our group to work on further studies.

Marieke Pudlas

Marieke studied Biological Engineering at the University of Karlsruhe (UK), Germany from 2002 to 2008. In 2006, she spent 5 month working on a student research project at the University of Sydney (US), Australia and completed her PhD at Fraunhofer IGB (IGB). Her PhD thesis dealt with the non-invasive characterization of cells by Raman spectroscopy, specifically for the application as a quality control tool for tissue engineered products. She worked at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia (QUT) in the field of cartilage tissue engineering, which was also a part of her PhD thesis. Marieke has since taken a position in industry. In her spare time she enjoys playing the clarinet, jogging and travelling.

Marco Kayser

Marco studies Technology Management at the University of Stuttgart, Germany (US). He joined the Fraunhofer IGB (IGB) as a research assistant in August 2010 and performed his bachelor’s thesis as a member of the Fraunhofer Attract Group. His main project focused on the development of bioreactors to mimic cardiovascular developmental processes. He plays multiple sports and enjoys hanging out with friends.

Carly Wolfbrandt

Carly studies Chemistry at the University of Colorado (UC), where she is completing her Bachelor degree. She worked as a lab assistant and intern at the Fraunhofer Attract Group for the summer of 2011, and was the recipient of a scholarship from the Baden-Württemberg Stipendium. This program provides American students with German language training as well as the opportunity to complete an internship in their chosen career field. She enjoys rock climbing, yoga, pilates, reading and learning new languages. She hopes to become fluent in German and complete her PhD in Chemistry at a German university.

Georgia Lill

Georgia studies Applied Mathematics at Yale University where she is completing her Bachelor degree. She visited the Fraunhofer Attract Group for the summer of 2011 as a research intern, and worked on the development of an efficient and optimal protocol for RNA-extraction from laser micro-dissected cardiac cells. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the cello, doing yoga, and reading a good book. She also loves learning new languages and hopefully became fluent in German during her stay in Germany!

Yekaterina Butylkova

Katya was a visiting student from Los Angeles for the summer of 2010. She was born and raised in the Ukraine, and she is currently pursuing her Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) degree at the University of Southern California School of Pharmacy (USC). She had previously worked closely with Dr. Katja Schenke-Layland on studying the differentiation of embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells into the cells of cardiovascular and hematopoietic lineages. She joined our group in the summer of 2010 to pursue her studies. In her free time she travelled around Germany and explored Europe. She enjoys the outdoors, hiking in the mountains, spending time on the beach, and doing power yoga.
PubMed

Sibylle Thude

Sibylle studied Technical Biology at the University of Stuttgart, Germany (US). She received her diploma in 1998, before she started her carrier at the Fraunhofer IGB (IGB). Sibylle contributed to several studies in the fields of cartilage, bone, skin and liver tissue engineering. She supports the Fraunhofer Attract Group with her expertise in FACS analysis. She is also an expert in cytotoxicity testing of medical devices according to DIN ISO 10993-5 on cells or a 3D skin model. In her spare time she enjoys dancing flamenco, rock climbing, snow boarding and spending time with her daughter.