This project inves­ti­gates how mecha­nisms of learn­ing and brain plastic­ity differ between young and older adults using Visual Percep­tual Learn­ing (VPL) as a model. VPL refers to an improve­ment in a visual skill with repeated visual experi­ence or train­ing. VPL will be studied using behav­ioral train­ing proto­cols combined with techniques such as eye-track­ing, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).

Helicenes are a group of polycyclic aromatic hydro­car­bons (PAHs) with screw-shaped struc­tures that give rise to charac­ter­is­tic optical and optoelec­tronic proper­ties. Both expan­sion of the helical struc­ture and its enrich­ment with boron have been proved to enhance these proper­ties, enabling multi­ple appli­ca­tions, for example in OLEDs and OFETs. This project focuses on the synthe­sis of helicenes integrat­ing both features as poten­tial new materi­als for organic electron­ics and funda­men­tal studies. 

Earth's magnetic field guides migra­tory birds over vast distances. Despite decades of research, the mecha­nisms behind avian magne­tosen­si­tiv­ity remain unclear. Recent studies suggest cryptochromes play a role, but proving this is challeng­ing. Our project explores whether rhodopsins, previ­ously overlooked, also contribute. We aim to under­stand these photore­cep­tors at a molec­u­lar level and enable behav­ioural exper­i­ments with trans­genic birds.

Certain ant species exhibit wound care and rescue behav­iours towards injured nestmates, thereby enhanc­ing their survival and sustain­ing the colony's workforce. Despite these benefits, it remains unclear how ecolog­i­cal and evolu­tion­ary factors have shaped these social behav­iours. By using inter­dis­ci­pli­nary methods from behav­iour and theoret­i­cal biology, we aim to eluci­date the causes and conse­quences under­ly­ing the evolu­tion of wound care and rescue behaviours.

The human brain has the remark­able ability to flexi­bly gener­al­ize knowl­edge from specific learn­ing experi­ences to new situa­tions. However, the mecha­nisms under­ly­ing such gener­al­iza­tion processes are still not fully under­stood. This project aims at charac­ter­iz­ing the cogni­tive and neural repre­sen­ta­tions that under­lie success­ful gener­al­iza­tion processes and to identify factors that influ­ence them (e.g., sleep). As such, we hope to gain a better under­stand­ing of how we make sense of the contin­u­ously chang­ing world around us.

Elastocaloric cooling utilizes stress-induced crystal­lo­graphic phase trans­for­ma­tion which releases or absorbs latent heat upon stress loading or removal. It is a promis­ing next-gener­a­tion solid-state cooling due to its high caloric effect. However, one of the disad­van­tages is the huge electric actua­tor required. This project aims to integrate actua­tors driven by low-grade heat to reach the goal of reduc­ing driver-to-refrig­er­ant mass ratio and zero electric­ity input.

π‑Extended carbazoles exhibit intrigu­ing electronic and optical proper­ties that make them attrac­tive for diverse appli­ca­tions such as OLEDs, OFETs, and solar cells. In this project, new methods for the synthe­sis of these N‑heterocycles will be explored and their appli­ca­tion as organic materi­als will be inten­sively investigated.

Insects face a wide range of light inten­si­ties, which gradu­ally change through­out the daily cycle, and suddenly change between celes­tial condi­tions or habitat types. To under­stand how insects extract relevant infor­ma­tion from such dynamic visual scenes, it is neces­sary to study both sensory process­ing and behav­iour, which influ­ence each other recip­ro­cally. To disen­tan­gle this closed-loop, I am study­ing three key-stages: (i) adaptive behav­iour, (ii) natural inputs, and (iii) sensory processing.

Viruses are much more than parasites with a negative impact on the host. They can infect all domains of life and have differ­ent types of relation­ships with their host: From a parasitic to even benefi­cial relation­ship. One poten­tially benefi­cial relation­ship in favor of their host cell is the ability of some viruses to prevent super­in­fec­tion by other viruses, which is known as super­in­fec­tion exclu­sion (SIE). However, our under­stand­ing of this mecha­nism is rather scare. This project aims to decipher the molec­u­lar mecha­nism under­ly­ing SIE in haloar­chaeal viruses using molec­u­lar and virolog­i­cal techniques.

Monomeric or parti­cle-based multi­meric subunit vaccines are widely used to induce humoral immune responses that protect from disease. However, how antigen valency and spacing affects B cell activa­tion and antibody produc­tion is not well under­stood. Using a malaria vaccine antigen as model, the project combines DNA-origami-based exper­i­men­tal work with mathe­mat­i­cal model­ing to define how the biophys­i­cal parame­ters of antigen presen­ta­tion and antibody affin­ity affect B cell activation.

The forma­tion of cells in our blood is sustained through­out our lifetime by hematopoi­etic stem cells. An under­stand­ing of the output and activ­ity of individ­ual stem cells, however, is only emerg­ing. In my project, I will inves­ti­gate clonal recon­sti­tu­tion dynam­ics and evalu­ate hematopoi­etic regen­er­a­tion utiliz­ing somatic mutations in the mitochon­dr­ial genome as natural barcodes in match­ing bone marrow and periph­eral blood samples from patients under­go­ing allogenic stem cell transplantation.

Boron-contain­ing polyaro­matic hydro­car­bons (PAHs) draw increas­ing inter­est due to their appeal­ing optical and electronic features. They are promis­ing candi­dates for appli­ca­tions in organic electron­ics, e.g. OLEDs, transis­tors and organic solar cells. This project is focused on the synthe­sis of new chiral organoboron PAHs and the inves­ti­ga­tion of the impact of their chiral geome­try on the opera­tion of such devices.