Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Molecular life scientist with experience executing interdisciplinary collaborative projects in fast-paced, international environments, with strengths in project coordination, timeline management, and delivery of defined milestones. Consistently selected for highly competitive research programs, with experience presenting results to international audiences.
- Leading an independent research project investigating mechanisms of RNA degradation in mammalian system, including experimental strategy, data analysis and scientific communication. - Providing scientific mentorship and project guidance to a PhD student studying RNA exosome. - Selected for the competitive NaturTalente 2026 Program, combining leadership, communication and professional development training with industry exposure through company visits to Roche, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, AGES and the Austrian Social Insurance Association.
- Selected through the competitive Vienna BioCenter PhD Program to conduct doctoral research focused on RNA biology and gene regulation in the laboratory of Stefan Ameres. - Secured external PhD funding through the highly competitive Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds Research Fellowship program. - First author on a study investigating RNA exosome assembly and function in mouse embryonic stem cells (Navalayeu et al., accepted at The EMBO Journal, 2026). - Led and coordinated a cross-laboratory research project, integrating experimental and computation workflows from study design to manuscript submission. - Designed and executed experiments involving mammalian cell culture (BSL1/BSL2), CRISPR genome editing, flow-cytometry, proteomics, next generation sequencing; analyzed and interpreted the data. - Communicated complex scientific findings to international research audience through oral and poster presentations at scientific conferences. - Mentored 3 interns/master’s students in experimental design, laboratory techniques and data analysis.
- Selected as an undergraduate research student in the laboratory of Olga Dontsova. - Contributed to the discovery and characterization of a novel mitochondrial peptide involved in the regulation of cellular respiration and lipid metabolism (Chugunova et al., PNAS, 2019). - Co-authored review articles on small translated ORFs and N6-methyladenosine biology (Chugunova et al., Journal of Proteome Research, 2018; Sergiev et al., Journal of Molecular Biology, 2016). - Developed foundational laboratory skills in mammalian cell culture, RT-qPCR, immunocytochemistry and western blotting.
- Selected among 21 international participants from over 2000 applicants for the Vienna BioCenter Summer School program in the group of Stefan Ameres. - Investigated the role of 2′-O-methylation in small RNA silencing pathways using Drosophila melanogaster model to study mechanisms of post-transcriptional gene regulation. - Designed and executed experiments involving RNA interference (RNAi), small RNA sequencing, in vitro transcription, Northern blotting, and S2 cell culture techniques, and analyzed the data. - Presented research findings at the final Summer School Symposium and received the Best Talk Award for scientific communication and presentation excellence.
- Selected for the highly competitive Amgen Scholars Program at the LMU Gene Center in the laboratory of Daniel Wilson. - Investigated mechanisms of protein-mediated resistance to the antibiotic Lincomycin. - Performed recombinant protein isolation, ribosome purification and in vitro translation assays. - Generated and interpreted experimental data to characterize translational responses associated with antibiotic resistance. - Presented research findings at the final Amgen Scholars Europe Symposium in Cambridge, UK to an international scientific audience.