Basel, Basel, Switzerland
I am a results-driven biotechnologist with a Master's from TUM, passionate about solving problems at the intersection of science, technology, and business. My experience at leading pharmaceutical companies like Roche and Boehringer Ingelheim has centered on driving process optimization, managing strategic projects, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to deliver results in complex, multicultural environments. My journey in biotechnology has been a deliberate progression designed to gain a holistic, "full-picture" perspective. I started with a hands-on apprenticeship to master foundational lab operations, built on that with a Bachelor's focused on the end-to-end biomanufacturing process, and then broadened my experience by helping build a novel foods startup as its first employee. I culminated this journey with a research-intensive Master's at TUM and Uppsala University to understand the deep science driving the industry. I am driven by a love for learning and a "let's do it" mentality. I am eager to apply my passion for continuous improvement and my holistic industry perspective to a role that tackles significant challenges at the intersection of science, technology, and business.
Currently, I serve as a Postgraduate Intern in Roche's Asset Care MAB department. While I'm leading an Asset Lifecycle Management project, my role also includes the day-to-day responsibilities of managing deviations and CAPAs. Taking direct ownership of these tasks allows me to actively contribute to our quality management system and ensure we meet stringent regulatory requirements. By doing so, I'm directly involved in safeguarding the integrity of our drug manufacturing processes. As part of my role, I identify and present opportunities for process improvement to enhance the robustness and efficiency of our manufacturing equipment to key stakeholders.
As a Research Assistant in Prof. Benz's lab, I was tasked with a major project to recover and systematize a valuable, decade-old fungal cell bank that had fallen into disuse. I successfully restructured and resurrected the entire collection, reviving over 500 unique strains from the 10-year-old samples. I also designed and implemented a new, scalable cataloging overview that enabled the fulfillment of international research requests for previously inaccessible, high-value strains.
As the first employee at this novel foods startup, my primary responsibility was to oversee the company's foundational R&D and production processes to accelerate its market entry. I played a key role in the first-ever commercial cultivation of Laetiporus sulphureus ("chicken of the woods") by developing a proprietary growth medium, resulting in an industry breakthrough and a successful patent application. I also engineered and implemented new sterile fermentation workflows that boosted production success rates from 80% to over 98%, eliminating a critical operational bottleneck.
During my internship and thesis in the R&D department, my project focused on understanding and controlling raw material variability in cell culture media production. I drove an analytical project to determine the impact of this variability on CHO-cell growth and monoclonal antibody production. By applying a Design of Experiments (DoE) approach, I reduced the required number of experiments by over 95%, which significantly accelerated the identification of critical process parameters.
In a short-term international role, I assisted laboratory coordinators in preparing microbiology teaching labs, where I quickly identified and addressed an opportunity to improve the existing workflow. I streamlined the weekly preparation cycle by taking ownership of the end-to-end process, from supply management to post-experiment cleanup. The proactive system I implemented eliminated previously chaotic workflows, ensuring complete operational readiness for all student experiments and earning the trust of the team within a month.