People

Group Leader

Barbara Di Ventura

Nationality:
Even if I tried to hide it, you would immediately get it…I am just too Italian I’m afraid. I do have German nationality too, though, eh eh.

Protein/molecules of interest:
I used to love p53, then I started focusing my attention on these fascinating pole-to-pole oscillating Min proteins, but, lately, there is NO doubt: my favorite molecule is LOV!

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
I am stuck at BLAST

Best model organism:
Everything but Drosophila!

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:
Classical restriction digestion-based cloning (this might reveal my age, though. I shall say Gibson Assembly to stay cool!)

Favourite place in the lab:
I am secluded in the office most of the time, but I’d rather be at the benches where the exciting science is taking place!

When an experiment does not work, you…:
Get totally mad!

Amounts of coffee per day:
2 in the morning, one espresso after lunch and this is it.

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
Ok, this one is tough. I sing all the possible songs in my head all the time, but lately, I became obsessed with Måneskin, so I’d say “Moriro’ da re” on a good day and “Torna a casa” on a bad day

PhD student

Büşra Merve Kırpat

Nationality:
universe

Protein/molecules of interest:
fluorescent proteins

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
BLAST

Best model organism:
tardigrades

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:
Gibson Assembly

Favorite place in the lab:
microscopy room

When an experiment does not work, you…:
It’s an expected thing for an experiment so I just grab a coffee for a break and think about it.

Amounts of coffee per day:
at least two cups

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
James Brown- I got you (I feel good) / Bob Marley- Three little birds

PhD student

Daniel Armbruster

Nationality:
German

Protein/molecules of interest: 
Inteines and OrthoRep.

Most useful bioinformatics tool: 
PyMOL and BLAST

Best model organism: 
S. cerevisiae

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy: 
Gibson assembly

Favourite place in the lab:
My workplace

When an experiment does not work, you…: 
drink a coffee

Amounts of coffee per day: 
depends on the experiments

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
Wonderful Life – Seeed/ You can’t always get what you want – The Rolling Stones

PhD student

Daniel Mazraeh

Nationality:
Milky way

Protein/molecules of interest:
Still, nothing amazes me more than motor proteins.

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
Never rely on one.

Best model organism:
Of course, it depends on the experiment

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:
The faster the better.

Amounts of coffee per day:
Not much

Favorite cafeteria food:
Both Greek and Persian cuisines.

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
“Adelante”- Sash! / ”Tanhaye Tanha” Iraj bastami

Postdoc

Denise Nikodemus

Nationality:
European

Protein/molecules of interest:
Extracellular matrix proteins and those who influence their expression, folding, secretion, maintenance, and disposal

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
BLAST, Clustal Omega, Expasy, PDB

Best model organism:
Depends on what I want to use it for.

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:
Sleeping beauty transposase system, simple overlap PCR

Favourite place in the lab:
Can´t resist the bench. Desk stuff must wait until the evening.

Amounts of coffee per day:
A fast one in the morning, a relaxed one after lunch

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
A good day in the lab and `Blinding Lights´ by The Weekend, the day can´t be bad anymore. Pearl Jam can really help on a bad lab day.

PhD student

Giada Forlani

Nationality:
Croatian/Italian, the best combo ever! 😉

Protein/molecules of interest:
the one and only RelA (p65), and when fused to LINuS I like it even better

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
Benchling, to keep all the cloning, protocols and projects organized. ImageJ/Fiji for editing/analysis of microscopy images.

Best model organism:
Mammalian cells: so small but still so rebellious and resilient.

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:
Gibson aka narcissistic water cloning XD

Favourite place in the lab:
The drawer in which I hide chocolate 😇

When an experiment does not work, you…:
….Go to the before-mentioned drawer 😎

Amounts of coffee per day:
max 2 per day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, always with milk, sometimes with sugar

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
There are no bad days in the lab that can´t be turned into good days with some music (and maybe a drink after work). Let´s start the party with In&Out (Gigi D´Agostino & LA Vision).

PhD student

Junsheng Liang

Nationality:
China

Protein/molecules of interest:
Min proteins, Cas9

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
Benchling
Snap gene

Best model organism:
E.coli

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:
Gibson Assembly

Favorite place in the lab:
Cold room in summer! Big culture room in winter!

When an experiment does not work, you…:
back home sadly and cook food happily.

Amounts of coffee per day:
I’m a tee addict!

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
good day – Rivers in the desert
bad day – You are not alone

Postdoc

Mehmet Ali Öztürk

Nationality:
Earth

Protein/molecules of interest:
01000001 01101110 01111001

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
My cerebrum

Best model organism:
Homo sapiens

Amounts of coffee per day:
One coffee a day, keeps doctor away

Favorite cafeteria food:
Anything containing N, C, H, O, S

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
Good day: UEFA Champions League theme
Bad day: Star Wars – The Imperial March

Favorite place in the lab:
My workstation chair, cause gravity sucks

Secretary

Simone Ugi

Nationality:
German

Protein/molecules of interest: –

Most useful bioinformatics tool: –

Best model organism: –
SAP, especially when it does something you do not understand

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:

Favourite place in the lab:
My office

When an experiment does not work, you…:
change the strategy

Amounts of coffee per day:
2-4

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
Good day: Der letzte Tanz (Boss)
Bad day: I want to break free (Queen)

Postdoc

T. Curtis Shoyer Jr

Nationality:
USA

Protein/molecules of interest:
In my Ph.D., it was the mechanical proteins connecting the actin cytoskeleton to adhesion structures that transmit the forces required for cells to move. I also like fluorescent proteins and biosensors and optogenetic actuators.

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
Perhaps not bioinformatics, but I like systems biology modeling software, like Cytosim and GillesPy2.

Best model organism:
zebrafish

Favorite plasmid/cloning strategy:
Restriction digestion-based cloning

Favourite place in the lab:
(1) Microscope room – because there is nothing more exciting than seeing a biosensor or molecular tool you made working inside living cells. (2) PC – because I love to code.

When an experiment does not work, you…:
Analyze the sources of failure. Repeat as needed, adding more controls. Re-visit the potential payoff.

Amounts of coffee per day:
I brew 1L of cold brew coffee in my fridge every day. Usually I finish this, and even supplement with additional coffee sources.

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
Classical music stimulates my thoughts the best.

Technician

Valentin Pik

Nationality:
French, but sometimes I feel like I am from another universe

Protein/molecules of interest:
All the hormonal systems that shape us

Most useful bioinformatics tool:
MPython, Mathlab, Fiji and GraphPad Prism are really funny

Best model organism:
Orange Cat

Favorite place in the lab:
I love the Bench, but an alloy of bench and informatics is the best

Amounts of coffee per day:
Still stuck in childhood, hot chocolate

When an experiment does not work, you…:
I ask myself how I ended up here and what I did to deserve this. Then I remember that I will not let an experiment beat me!

Songs to best describe lab life on a good day/on a bad day:
for bad experiments, “In too Deep” from SUM41, a funny song for such a situation.

For a good day, “Hell yeah” from Rev Theory, for the energy it gives