Completed projects

Visual experi­ence during a sensi­tive period is crucial for the normal devel­op­ment of the brain. Individ­u­als who are treated for congen­i­tal cataracts more than a few weeks from birth suffer from low visual acuity as well as specific deficits (such as impaired face process­ing). This project inves­ti­gates the possi­ble mecha­nisms that mediate this sensi­tive period, by non-invasively assess­ing brain struc­ture and function in congen­i­tally and devel­op­men­tally visually deprived individuals.

Repro­duc­tive isola­tion, the ceased exchange of genetic mater­ial, is crucial for the diver­gence of popula­tions into distinct species. This is commonly facil­i­tated by an extrin­sic physi­cal barrier, but rarely it can also occur devoid of such barri­ers. Whether speci­a­tion proceeds by the same or differ­ent repro­duc­tive isola­tion mecha­nisms under these two geographic scenar­ios remains a matter of debate. We aim to contribute to this funda­men­tal question in biology by taking advan­tage of a model system of speci­a­tion: the Midas cichlid fishes.

Aggres­sion can be distin­guished in a reactive form, which is a protec­tive response to an acute threat and an instru­men­tal form, which is goal directed. Appet­i­tive aggres­sion is a sub form of instru­men­tal aggres­sion, which is defined by the experi­ence of lust when perpe­trat­ing violence. So far, the latter has been only assessed through self-report. The doctoral project under super­vi­sion of Prof. Thomas Elbert intends to create an objec­tive, epige­netic marker for appet­i­tive aggression.

Most modern drugs are made up of one handed­ness of a chiral molecule (one enantiomer). In many cases, depend­ing on the handed­ness of the enantiomer, the drug could have either benefi­cial or harmful effects, thus is it desir­able to be able to detect the handed­ness. Circu­lar dichro­ism (CD) spectroscopy can differ­en­ti­ate between the handed­ness due to differ­en­tial absorp­tion of circu­larly polarised light but suffers from weak signals; there­fore, a method that can enhance the signal is desired.

In this project, an innov­a­tive quantum gas micro­scope is devel­oped that makes use of optical tweez­ers to rearrange neutral stron­tium atoms into config­urable and defect-free patterns. This allows for rapid initial­iza­tion of the system and serves as a start­ing point for the analog simula­tion of quantum many-body systems and as a qubit regis­ter for digital quantum comput­ing. Exploit­ing long-range Rydberg inter­ac­tions enables the simula­tion of spin models and the imple­men­ta­tion of quantum logic gates.

The efficient design of chemi­cal processes is of great impor­tance for the chemi­cal indus­try. Current research makes an essen­tial contri­bu­tion to synthe­siz­ing complex substrates inexpen­sively in as few steps as possi­ble and in high yield. This PhD project, under the direc­tion of Hector Fellow A. Stephen K. Hashmi, there­fore, deals with the mecha­nism and the function­al­iza­tion of a wide range of 1,3‑diynes with varying nucleophiles.

The project inves­ti­gates the struc­ture, purpose, and mecha­nisms of origin for amorphous carbon formed by methanogenic and methane-oxidiz­ing archaea. I will use advanced biophys­i­cal, compu­ta­tional, and genetic tools to deter­mine the genes, proteins and struc­tures, includ­ing the molec­u­lar mecha­nisms involved in the forma­tion of this carbon. Poten­tial appli­ca­tions will be assessed. The project is super­vised by Hector Fellow Antje Boetius.

The devel­op­ment of catalysts to increase the chemi­cal efficiency or to find completely new chemi­cal reactions has found great inter­est. For this a wide variety of ligands are needed. The doctoral is super­vised by Hector Fellow A. Stephen K. Hashmi and aims at devel­op­ing new ligands that are based on the formal double depro­to­na­tion of 1,3‑diketones and thereby enlarg­ing the chemi­cal space of known ligands. For this new synthetic methods have to be found and the obtained ligands have to be tested and characterised.