Leibniz Association: Leibniz PostDoc Network

Mission Statement

In 2017, the Leibniz PostDoc Network was founded to provide a communication platform for all postdoctoral researchers in the Leibniz Association, thereby giving them a distinctive and united voice.

The most sensitive stage in a researcher’s career is the one following the completion of the PhD. In this phase, researchers face a multitude of challenges in their professional and private lives. They usually pursue additional research, training, or teaching in order to improve the skills required in academia or industry.

The overall aims of the network are:

fostering and support of postdocs in their career development and
advocating shared values and improving the scientific culture.

Organization

The Steering Committee of the Leibniz Postdoc Network is composed by two elected spokespersons, Dr. Marta Ferreira-Gomes (DRFZ) and Dr. Mine Altinli (BNITM), and two coordinators per Working Group.

For the period of 2022-2023, there are seven working groups that focus on current topical issues within the network. They suggest and implement next steps concerning the following topics:

Postdoc survey
Public communication and advocacy
Network growth and outreach
Working conditions and Mental health
Career development
Diversity and Inclusion
Sustainability

The core topics covered in the working groups may change over time, new topical focusses can be suggested at every annual meeting and will be voted on. Working groups are open to all postdocs in the Leibniz Association. If you want to join a working group, please do so by contacting the spokespersons and the working group coordinators.

For more information, see also https://leibniz-postdoc.de/.

Spokespersons and Working Groups

Dr. Marta Ferreira Gomes
German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin (DRFZ)
marta.fgomes(at)drfz.de
Marta is a Portuguese immunologist working in Germany since 2014. She got her Bachelor's in Biochemistry and Masters in Medical Biochemistry at the University of Lisbon in Portugal. After that, she moved to Germany, where she started her PhD at the Department of Cell Biology of the University of Jena, investigating the interplay between B cells and the fungus Candida albicans. Her project was developed in close collaboration with the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute. Since 2019 Marta has been working as a postdoctoral researcher at the DRFZ Berlin, trying to uncover more about how the body long-term stores its immune memory. Active in the Leibniz Postdoc Network as Financial Officer since 2020, she is now thrilled to embrace this new challenge and help the Network to grow.
Dr. Mine Altinli
Bernhard-Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM)
mine.altinli(at)bnitm.de
Mine is a post-doctoral researcher working on virus interactions in mosquitoes at the Bernhard-Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNITM). After completing her BSc in Biology at Istanbul University in Turkey, she received a scholarship for joining European Masters in Applied Ecology program. She completed a double MSc degree in Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel in Germany and Poitiers University in France. She did her PhD in Evolution of Infectious Systems at Montpellier University in France. Having been a foreign researcher all her academic career, she is familiar with the associated struggles and worries. She now wants to put her experience to good use to help other researchers in similar situations and to improve the working conditions for all post-docs. She firmly believes science needs the diverse perspectives that researchers with diverse backgrounds bring, and this diversity can only be sustained in academia by joint efforts for inclusion and support. She is excited to join Leibniz Postdoc Network, which provides an excellent platform and teamwork to achieve these!
The PostDoc Survey working group started the planning of the first Leibniz PostDoc Survey in fall 2018. The goal of the survey was to systematically collect data on the working situation, career plans, and potential need for training opportunities of postdocs within the Leibniz Association. The first survey was administered in late summer 2020 and examined employment histories, future career plans and training needs, as well as challenges concerning work-life balance or relationships with superiors. Some of the questions were specifically related to the situation of postdocs with an international background. Since the end of 2020, the group analyze the collected data and prepare a written report. From fall 2021 onwards, the group will start preparing the second survey round.
Dr. Daniela Fiedler
IPN – Leibniz-Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, Kiel
fiedler(at)leibniz-ipn.de
Daniela is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology Education at the IPN –Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education in Kiel. She studied Biology with focus on Animal Ecology and Environmental Science at Giessen University, and received her doctorate of science focusing on Biology Education from Kiel University. Her main research interests include teaching, learning, and accepting biological evolution across the educational stages. She is involved in the Leibniz PostDoc Network to link with other postdocs by discussing topics of common interest for postdocs across institutes and disciplines such as personal career paths and challenges concerning life-work balance.
Dr. Thomas Lösch
DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education
Loesch(at)dipf.de
Thomas studied psychology in Darmstadt and received his Ph.D. in psychology at the LEAD Graduate School and Research Network in Tübingen. Currently, he is a postdoc at the team Research Data for Education at the DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education. His research focuses on Open Science in education and he works in the development of research infrastructures to support a culture of data sharing. Thomas participates in the PostDoc network to actively exchange ideas to improve the research culture across the Leibniz Institutes.
The working group Public Communication and Advocacy develops and communicates a shared denominator for the heterogeneous interest group of postdocs. Our intention is to raise the profile of postdocs at the Leibniz Association (and beyond) inside and outside of academia.
Dr. Gregor Kalinkat
Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB)
kalinka(at)igb-berlin.de
Gregor is an animal ecologist at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB) in Berlin. He currently works in a project that aims to develop and test street lightings that reduce negative effects on insects funded via BfN (German Federal Agency for the Protection of the Environment).
Dr. Christian Nehls
Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center (FZB)
cnehls(at)fz-borstel.de
Christian belongs to the division of Biophysics at the Research Center Borstel. Since his physics studies, he has been particularly fascinated by interdisciplinary collaboration on questions with medical relevance. One of his major research interests has been membrane-associated mechanisms of bacterial pathogenicity factors and host defense molecules. As a postdoctoral researcher in a current project of the Leibniz Cooperative Excellence, he is investigating the physical basis of bacterial propagation strategies (A risk index for health effects of mineral dust and associated microbes). Christian engages in the Leibniz PostDoc Network to strengthen the scientific mid-level staff, identify blind spots in the system, and address them through communication.
The general aim of this working group is to maintain the communication infrastructure of the Leibniz PostDoc-Network and to expand the reach of the network. We maintain the website, advertise the communication channels like the listserv, and reach out to the PostDoc representatives at the individual institutes. As Felix describes it, this is the “machine room” of the network. Our goal is to reach every PostDoc within the Leibniz society, so that they can experience the benefit of the network.
Dr. Johanna Callhoff
German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin (DRFZ)
johanna.callhoff(at)drfz.de
Johanna has been working as a statistician at the German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin (DRFZ) since 2011. Her research focuses on health services research for persons with musculoskeletal diseases.
Dr. Maya Giridhar
Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich (LSB)
m.giridhar.leibniz-lsb(at)tum.de
Maya moved to Germany in 2014 after she receiving her Bachelor of Engineering degree in Biotechnology from Bangalore, India. She then pursued her Master’s in Microbial and Plant Biotechnology from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern in 2017. Further, she completed her Ph.D. in Plant Cell Biology from the University of Bonn in 2021. Since then she has been working as a Postdoctoral researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich. Her current research is to use spatial transcriptomics to profile the morphological and transcriptional data in crops using high resolution microarrays. As a member of the Leibniz Postdoc Network, she is thrilled to be a part of the “Machine room” and expand the network.
Dr. Katarzyna Hnida-Gut
Leibniz Institute for High Performance Microelectronics (IHP)
hnida(at)ihp-microelectronics.com
Katarzyna received her PhD degree in chemistry from Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland in 2014. After PhD she worked as an Assistant Professor at AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow where she was working on the synthesis of functional nanomaterials by electrochemical methods, their characteristics, and application in nano/microstructural chemical sensors, nanomotors, or nanoelectronic devices. As a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, she joined IBM Research – Europe, Zurich, Switzerland in 2020. Katarzyna’s research and outreach activities focused on adopting alternative synthesis paths for III-V semiconductor integration on silicon, nanoscale fabrication technologies, and device characterization. During her fellowship, she was looking into the application of electrodeposited InSb-based nanodevices. During this time, Katarzyna was also involved in technology development for RTD and FET integration for pulse generator devices and explored the possibilities of implementing electrodeposited nanowires for close-loop regulation of cellular electrical activity. In 2022 she joined Leibniz-Institut für innovative Mikroelektronik, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany where she continues her work on III-V materials growth and integration for photonic and optoelectronic integrated circuits.
Dr. Judith Boldt
German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH (DSMZ)
Judith.Boldt(at)dsmz.de
Judith initially studied bioinformatics and received her bachelor’s degree from the TU München and LMU. She then moved to Paris to combine lab experiments and computational analyses during her master studies ‘Interdisciplinary Approaches to Life Science’ at Université Paris Descartes. During her PhD work at College de France in Paris and UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas she focused on coevolution of genes, as well as protein thermal stability. For her postdoc, Judith is back in Germany, working at the Leibniz Institute DSMZ in Braunschweig. Her projects revolve around natural products from bacteria and brought her back to her roots in bioinformatics.
Dr. Rajini Nagrani
Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research & Epidemiology – BIPS (BIPS)
nagrani(at)leibniz-bips.de
Rajini completed her PhD in epidemiology in October 2014 from Tata Memorial Centre, Homi Bhabha National Institute, India and thereafter earned a position as Scientific Officer at the same institute. She later worked as Postdoctoral researcher at Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria and since October 2018 is working at Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research & Epidemiology-BIPS, Bremen. Her research interests are non-communicable disease epidemiology, molecular epidemiology and global health. With the Leibniz Postdoc network she would like connect with her peers, provide information on initial administrative procedures and career development.
Dr. Christina Stehle
German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin (DRFZ)
stehle(at)drfz.de
Christina acquired her PhD in immunology at the Deutsche Rheuma-Forschungszentrum (DRFZ) Berlin, focusing on tissue-embedded innate lymphocytes. She continued working in the field of innate immunity at the DRFZ and recently also engages in the Leibniz PostDoc Network exploring the Leibniz community and bringing further career development options.

Links

Leibniz Postdoc Network Website

Leibniz Postdoc Network on Twitter