Germany
PhD-trained biochemist with experience in the fields of biophysics, microbiology and biotechnology. Having completed my doctoral research at the Max-Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, I have expertise in the biochemistry of electron transport proteins and the physiology of non-model microbes. I have a large interest in sustainable biotechnological solutions, with my research focusing on sustainable ammonia production using bacteria, aiming to develop alternatives to the environmentally damaging Haber-Bosch process. My research has been published in four peer-reviewed research articles, including two first-author publications, and I have given four oral presentations at international scientific conferences, demonstrating my strength in scientific communication. I have over four years of international research experience in Germany and the UK, thoroughly enjoying working within diverse teams and utilising my collaborative and positive mindset to drive innovative problem-solving. I have an excellent command of English and since graduating I have been pursuing German for professional use (achieved B1, Dec 2025, actively pursuing B2). I am also interested in intellectual property law and have completed the WIPO General Course on Intellectual Property (DL101, April - June 2026).
My PhD work focused on biological nitrogen fixation within the bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus, elucidating and characterising essential electron-transport proteins supporting this reductive reaction. The sustainable production of ammonia using microbes, is of significant interest both academically and within industry, as currently ammonia is primarily produced through the environmentally damaging Haber-Bosch process, contributing to around two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This work was conducted in the Microbial Metalloenzymes Research Group under the supervision of Dr. Johannes Rebelein. Laboratory techniques: culturing and strain development of Escherichia coli, Rhodobacter capsulatus and Paracoccus denitrificans, protein purification using ÄKTA pure system (aerobic and anaerobic), affinity chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS)-Based proteomics, Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), X-ray crystallography (anaerobic), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, SDS-PAGE, Native PAGE, Golden Gate and Gibson Cloning, PCR.
My master's research focused on the isolation of a novel computationally designed heme-binding membrane protein that mimics natural oxidoreductase transmembrane proteins found in photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport mechanisms. This work was conducted within the School of Biochemistry under the supervision of Dr. Paul Curnow. Laboratory techniques: culturing and strain development of Escherichia coli, membrane protein purification using ÄKTA pure system, affinity chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography (SEC), SDS-PAGE, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy.