Lab Members

Miriam Votteler

Miriam studied Nutrition Sciences at the University of Hohenheim, Germany (UH) and received her diploma in May 2009. She prepared her thesis at the Fraunhofer Institute of Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart/Vaihingen, Germany in the field of tissue engineering. Her diploma work compared an advanced dynamic 3D model of intestinal tissue with a well-established 2D-CaCo 2 cell culture system via studies of resorption. In January 2010, she joined the Fraunhofer Attract Group as a PhD student. Her interests are to identify and characterize cellular and extracellular mechanism during the valvulogenese in detail, with a focus on progenitor cells which differentiate into valvular cells. In her spare time she enjoys running, cycling, skiing, swimming, and loves playing tennis. She also likes to relax while reading an exciting book.

Monika Holeiter

Monika studied Technical Biology at the University of Stuttgart (US). She completed her diploma thesis in fundamental cancer research at the Institute of Cell Biology and Immunology at the University of Stuttgart and received her diploma in April 2010. In her diploma work, Monika investigated the influence of sphingomyelin syntheses on epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. She became a member of the Fraunhofer Attract Group as a PhD student in July 2010. In her PhD thesis, Monika will aim to identify the impact of cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions in the cardiovascular system. In her free time she enjoys reading, painting and going to the cinema with friends.

Svenja Hinderer

Svenja studied Chemistry with focus on Biotechnology at the Reutlingen University, Germany (UR). She received the Master of Science (M.Sc.) in July 2010. In this time she standardized and characterized a 3D dynamic bioreactor test system for inducing angiogenesis in vitro. Svenja joined the Fraunhofer Attract Group as a PhD student in October 2010. Her PhD thesis focuses on the generation of biomimetic scaffolds that can be used as substrates for regenerative therapies. In her free time she loves skiing and playing tennis. She also enjoys indoorcycling (spinning), travelling and spending time with friends.

Marianne Schesny

Marianne studies Medicine at the University of Tübingen (UKT), Germany, where she is in the clinical stage of her program. She joined the Fraunhofer Attract Group in March 2011 and is writing her medical doctoral thesis about the characterization of 3D functionalized scaffolds as cultural substrates for vascular tissue engineering. In her free time she enjoys playing the piano, dancing and spending time with her friends.

Eva Brauchle

Eva studied Biomedical-Engineering at Albstadt-Sigmaringen University (ASU). She received her Master of Science in April 2011. Her Master Thesis was supported by the Fraunhofer Institute of Interfacial Engineering (IGB). The focus of her work was the non-invasive analysis of recombinant protein expression in cell lines using Raman spectroscopy and is now a PhD student in the Fraunhofer Attract Group. In her PhD thesis, she is continuing her work with Raman spectroscopy focusing on characterizing different cell types as well as their differentiation processes. In her free time she enjoys cycling and reading as well as spending time with friends and family.

Susanne Geist

Susanne studied Biochemistry at the University of Tübingen (UT), Germany and received her diploma in December 2011. During her study in 2009, she did en exchange to the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in Munich. She did her diploma thesis at the Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry in the field of induced pluripotent stem cells. In her diploma work, Susanne tried to differentiate induced pluripotent stem cells into hepatocytes. In 2012, she became a member of the Fraunhofer Attract Group as a PhD student. Susanne's PhD will focus on cell-extracellular matrix, cell-cell interactions within the developing cardiovascular system. In her free time off she likes to spend at the German Red Cross, go swimming, hiking and reading books.

Kai Pusch

Kai received his B. Eng. in Biotechnology at Furtwangen University (UF), Campus Villingen-Schwenningen in 2006. After working for one year at the Fraunhofer IGB, he started his master thesis in the field of Biomedical Engineering, which he completed in 2009 at the Albstadt-Sigmaringen University (ASU). Kai worked on several topics in the fields of cell biology and tissue engineering. His work included research on the cytotoxicity of carbon nanotubes, working with neonatale porcine primary cardiac myocytes, and the construction of a bioreactor module to develop an in vitro fascia model. In January 2010, Kai became a member of the Fraunhofer Attract Group. Kai enjoys spending time with his wife and son, reading a good book, and being in the garden.

Daniel Alejandro Carvajal Berrio

Daniel is an exchange student from Colombia. He studied Process Engineering at EAFIT University and at the University of Applied Science Bremerhaven (HB) in the program of Process Engineering and Energy Technology. On April 26th, 2011, Daniel completed his bachelor thesis on the non-invasive visualization of extracellular matrix from aortic valves using Raman spectroscopy, with a special focus on collagen structures. Daniel joined the Fraunhofer Attract Group in July 2010. In his free time, Daniel enjoys swimming and diving.
PubMed

Anne Knopf

Anne studied Biological Process Engineering at the University of Applied Science Frankfurt am Main, Germany (FH FFM). In 2009, she studied nutrition sciences at the Cork Institute of Technology in Ireland/Cork (CIT) for one semester. She joint the Fraunhofer Attract Group in September 2010. On May 20th, 2011, she completed her bachelor thesis on the utilization of Raman spectroscopy for the non-invasive characterization of stem cell differentiation state and is now studying biology at the University of Tübingen (UT). In her free time, she enjoys travelling the world to visit her friends. She also likes going to art exhibitions, concerts, watching independent movies, dancing and hiking in nature.

Andrej Gawrischenko

Andrej joined the Fraunhofer IGB as a research assistant in August 2011. He studies Media Computer Science at the Media University in Stuttgart (HdM) and he will perform his bachelor’s thesis as a member of the Fraunhofer Attract Group starting in October 2011. His main project will be the visualization of cardiovascular processes using patient-specific data. In his free time Andrej enjoys swimming, hiking and martial arts.

Regina Biller

Regina studies the newly introduced Bachelor of Science in Medical Engineering at the Inter-University Centre for Medical Technologies Stuttgart - Tübingen (IZST). She joined the Fraunhofer Attract Group in July 2011, where she works as a research assistant for histological stainings and microtome sections. In her leisure time she likes travelling, photography and learning chinese. She also enjoys taekwondo and several other sports.

Christian Becker

Christian studies the newly introduced Bachelor of Science in Medical Engineering at the Inter-University Centre for Medical Technologies Stuttgart - Tübingen (IZST). He joined the Fraunhofer Attract Group in January 2012, where he works as a research assistant for cell isolation, cell culture and raman spectroscopy. In his spare time, Christian enjoys rock climbing and snowboarding. He likes to spend time on riding his mountain-bike and hanging out with friends.