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.

Research Assistant

Syuzanna Hambardzumyan

Nationality:
International

Protein/Molecules of Interest:
Fluorophores for visualizing the invisible

Most Useful Bioinformatics Tool:
GraphPad Prism, PDB, SnapGene

Best Model Organism:
E. coli

Favorite Plasmid/Cloning Strategy:
Gibson Assembly

Favorite Place in the Lab:
At the bench or in the microscopy room

When an Experiment Doesn’t Work, You…
Pause, breathe, and troubleshoot

Amounts of Coffee Per Day:
I prefer tea instead

Songs to Describe Lab Life:
On good days, Sunny – Boney M
On bad days: Don’t Worry, Be Happy – Bobby McFerrin

Email: syuzanna.hambardzumyan@biologie.uni-freiburg.de

Masters Student

Nils Schlichting

Nationality:

German

Protein/Molecules of Interest:

Transcription factors like p53 or p65

Most Useful Bioinformatics Tool:

Have used Benchling a lot recently

Best Model Organism:

Mammalian cell lines like HEK, HeLa, etc.

Favorite Plasmid/Cloning Strategy:

Gibson Assembly (I guess)

Favorite Place in the Lab:

At my desk with Curtis to the left and Giada to the right

When an Experiment Doesn’t Work, I….

am frustrated slightly for some time, then try to figure out the reason for it

Amounts of Coffee Per Day:

An average of  2, amount might be increased occasionally

Songs to Describe Lab Life:
On good days: Some good old dad rock
On bad days: Some good old dad rock