Team
Who we are: Personal development and scientific discovery rely on curiosity, creativity, and multiple perspectives. As a team we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where people from all backgrounds thrive, no matter their race, ethnicity, gender, age, religion, language, abilities/disabilities, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or country of origin. We value and foster collaboration within and outside our group, and we welcome multiple approaches and points of view.
If you are interested in bachelor theses or internships in our group please write to the respective group members or subgroups directly. Roughly divided by techniques used: Biochemistry/Enzyme subgroup: Rishir, Wouter, Kora, Alex , Synthesis subgroup: Doreen, Mikey, Rachel , Analytics/Lanthanide Separation with bacteria subgroup: Philippe, Sophie . You can read more about their projects in the respective profiles.
Head of Group
Chair
Floor/Room: 00.42
Secretary
Secretary
Floor/Room: 01.37
Staff
Arbeitsgruppenleiter
Floor/Room: 01.25
Technicians
Chemielaborantin
Floor/Room: 01.27
CTA
Floor/Room: 01.66
Chemietechniker
Floor/Room: 00.66
Chemielaborantin
Floor/Room: 01.23
Lab 26.32.01.68 Labphone 13674
Chemielaborantin
Floor/Room: 00.76
Lab 26.32.00.72 Labphone 13348
Postdocs and Visiting Scientists
Postdoc
Floor/Room: U1.21
Alexandra studied for a Bachelor (B.Sc.) and Masters Degree in Biochemistry (M.Sc.) at Goethe University in Frankfurt with emphasis on membrane proteins and protein biochemistry and continued her PhD at HHU Düsseldorf on structural and functional studies on the Ca2+ dependent K+ channel AKT1 from A. thaliana and its interacting proteins in the lab of Prof. Dr. Lutz Schmitt.
Lab 26.32.U1.26 Labphone 14133
Visiting Scientist
Dr. Irina Konovalova works at the Institute for Single Crystals National Academy of Science of Ukraine in Kharkiv as Senior Researcher in the Department of X-ray Diffraction and Quantum Chemistry (research group Prof. Dr. Oleg Shishkin), and joined HHU in August 2022 as a participant of the ERASMUS+ exchange program for postdocs. She investigates aromatic compounds which are key structural blocks of bioactive products, medically important compounds and organic functional materials. The method of crystal structure analysis using quantum-chemical calculations makes it possible to study the energy structure of a crystal, evaluate the role of various types of intermolecular interactions, and predict the supramolecular architecture of a crystal. The combination of experimental X-ray diffraction data and theoretical studies on energy and bonding allows us to obtain a systematic fundamental knowledge about features that influence various types of intermolecular interactions, and thus contribute to the growing area of modern crystal engineering i.e. in pharmaceutical research.
Postdoc
Floor/Room: U1.23
I’m fascinated by the role enzymes play in cellular metabolism. In my research I focus on unravelling the functional mechanisms of novel enzymes isolated from non-model microorganisms. To this end I employ a wide array of complementary biochemical and biophysical techniques. After completing my PhD on proteins and protein complexes in oxygen-dependent methane oxidizers in the group of Prof. Jetten at the Radboud University Nijmegen, I studied the unique hydrazine synthase enzyme through UV-Vis, EPR and FTIR spectroscopy in the group of Prof. van Niftrik (Radboud University, Nijmegen) in close collaboration with Dr. Baymann (CNRS, Marseille). In Prof. Daumann’s group, I will work on isolating and characterizing different enzymes from the thermoacidophilic methanotroph M. fumariolicum SolV.
Lab 26.32.U1.26 Labphone 14133
PhD-Students
PhD student
Floor/Room: 61
Ioana completed her bachelor’s (B.Sc.) and master’s (M.Sc.) studies in chemistry at the University of Heidelberg with the support of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). She completed her bachelor thesis in inorganic chemistry with the group of PD Dr. Ballmann and internships in the groups of Prof. Gade, Prof. Mastalerz, Prof. Dreuw and PD Dr. Behrens (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). After joining our group for her master’s thesis exploring new ligand platforms for PQQ-based MDH biomimetics, she started her PhD with us and continues to work on lanthanide-MDH biomimetics.
PhD student
Floor/Room: U1.21
Philippe completed his bachelor´s (B.Sc.) and master´s (M.Sc.) studies in chemistry at the university of Heidelberg. Philippe performed internships in the groups of Prof. Krämer, Prof. Hashmi, Prof. Dahint and in a cooperation of Prof. Comba and Jun.-Prof. Thomas. His master thesis, in the group of Prof. Comba, was focused on synthesis of Patellamid-derivates and the influence of different stereoisomerism on their resulting copper(II)-complexes. The focus of his PhD in our group will be on development of bio-inspired recycling of f-elements.
Lab 26.32.U1.26 Labphone 14133
PhD student
Floor/Room: U1.21
Sophie studied for a master’s degree in Chemistry (M.Sc.) at the LMU Munich after completing her bachelor’s degree (B.Sc.) in Chemistry and Biochemistry at the same university. She prepared her bachelor thesis in the group of Prof. Klüfers and was a research intern in the groups of Dr. Schredelseker at the Walther Straub Institute, Prof. Trapp at the LMU and Prof. Duhme-Klair at the University of York. Before starting her PhD with us, she prepared her master thesis in our group working on bioinspired lanthanide chelators.
Lab 26.32.U1.26 Labphone 14133
PhD student
Floor/Room: U1.23
Pia received her B.Sc. in Chemistry/Biochemistry from the LMU Munich. For her bachelor thesis she worked in the lab of Dr. Petra Rovó on NMR studies of prebiotic dsRNA. She continued her M.Sc. in Chemistry at the LMU with internships in the group of Prof. Oliver Trapp on photocatalytic alpha alkylation and in our group on extraction and analysis of bacterial metabolites of M.extorquens AM1. For her master thesis she went to Osaka University in Japan where she worked in the group of Prof. Yasuhiro FUNAHASHI on complexation studies of an artificial siderophore. In our group she is now working with Ln-utilizing methano- and methylotrophic bacteria.
Since her master studies she has been volunteering in the Young Chemists' Association (JCF) of the German Chemical Society (GDCh), organizing events for (PhD) students such as the Alpenforum, the ChemSkillDays or the Spring Symposium 2024 in Ulm.
Lab 26.32.U1.26 Labphone 14133
PhD student
Floor/Room: U1.23
Kora received her integrated master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh in Biological and Medicinal Chemistry (M.Sc.). During her studies, she interned in the group of Prof. Hulme (UoE) on an RSC stipend where she focussed on the synthesis of a novel cyclophilin ligand, and gained industrial experience by working for the In Silico Research Department (Merck) in Darmstadt. Prior to her PhD, she completed her master thesis in the group of Prof. Sieber (TUM) which focussed on azaphilones and their covalent reactivity with lysine residues in bacterial proteome. In our group, she will study the biochemistry of Fe-αKG-dependent enzymes.
Lab 26.32.U1.26 Labphone 14133
PhD student
Floor/Room: 00.78
Rachel studied for a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry (B.Sc.) at the LMU Munich and subsequently completed her master‘s degree in Chemistry (M.Sc.) at the LMU with emphasis on organic and inorganic chemistry. She prepared her Bachelor thesis in the group of Prof. Klüfers and was a research intern in the group of Prof. Knochel and our group. Before starting her PhD with us, she prepared her master thesis in our group working on the synthesis of pyrroloquinoline quinone derivatives as model complexes.
Lab 26.32.00.70 Labphone 13302
PhD student
Floor/Room: U1.23
Rishir pursued Chemistry for his Bachelor’s degree at the Institute of Advanced Research (Gandhinagar, India) and graduated in 2019 with a university gold medal. His BSc dissertation was supervised by Dr. Satyendra Mishra and focused on the Diels-Alder Reaction. During his studies there, he interned at JNCASR (Bangalore, India) and continued working as a research intern after graduation. In 2020, he moved to Israel to pursue a Master’s in Chemical Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science. After defending his Master’s thesis at the interface of biology and chemistry under the joint supervision of Prof. Deborah Fass and Dr. Sergey Semenov, Rishir spent the following summer in South East Asia volunteering as a Conservation Research Assistant at SORCE (Lombok, Indonesia), a marine conservation non-profit. During his PhD, he aims to redesign and engineer the enzymatic characteristics of the lanthanide-dependent methanol dehydrogenase.
Lab 26.32.U1.26 Labphone 14133
PhD student
Floor/Room: 61
Annika studied for a master’s degree in Chemistry (M.Sc.) at the LMU Munich with emphasis on inorganic and organic chemistry after completing her bachelor’s degree (B.Sc.) in a transnational chemistry program (Regio Chimica) at the Albert-Ludwig university of Freiburg and université de l’Haute Alsace Mulhouse. She prepared her bachelor thesis in the group of Prof. Weber and was a research intern in the groups of Prof. Newman at the university of Ottawa, Prof. Carell at the LMU and in our group. Before starting her PhD with us, she prepared her master thesis in our group working on complex formation of cisplatin with 5-methylcytosine.
PhD student
Floor/Room: 00.78
Michael received his bachelor´s degree in Chemistry and Biochemistry (B.Sc.) from the LMU, where he subsequently earned his master´s degree (M.Sc.), majoring in organic and inorganic chemistry. He prepared his Bachelor thesis in the group of Prof. Karaghiosoff and was a research intern in the group of Dr. Thorn-Seshold and at the Wacker Consortium in Munich. Prior to his PhD, he completed his master´s thesis in our group, which focused on the synthesis of biomimetic copper complexes.
Lab 26.32.00.70 Labphone 13302
PhD student
Floor/Room: 00.76
Doreen studied for a Master’s degree in Chemistry (M.Sc.) at Harvard University, Boston in collaboration with LMU Munich, where she worked on antitumor agents. She majored in organic and inorganic chemistry after having received her Bachelor’s degree (B.Sc.) in Chemistry and Biochemistry at LMU Munich. She did her Bachelor’s thesis in the research group of Prof. Dr. Franz Bracher at the Department of Pharmacy at LMU Munich. Doreen has performed internships in the research group of Prof. Dr. Oliver Trapp and in our group and was an intern in the working group of Dr. Simone Rothmiller at the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the German Armed Forces. Doreen takes up on her internship in our group by further exploring biomimetic and fully synthetic iron(IV)-oxo complexes in her PhD thesis.
Lab 26.32.00.72 Labphone 13348
Master-Students
Master Student
Floor/Room: 01.41
Timm started his studies for his Bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) at the HHU in Düsseldorf. There he received his Bachelor's degree with focus on inorganic chemistry in the group of Prof. Frank and investigated new synthesis routes for tin(II)trifluorinacetate. Subsequently joining our group for his Master’s thesis exploring photocatalytic reoxidation of biomimetic iron(IV)-oxo complexes.
Lab 26.32.00.72 Labphone 13348
Master Student
Floor/Room: 01.41
Lab 26.32.00.72 Labphone 13302
Master Student
Floor/Room: 00.78
Carolina studied for a Bachelor‘s degree in Business Chemistry (B.Sc.) at the HHU Düsseldorf. She prepared her Bachelor‘s thesis in cooperation with Henkel and investigated colloidal dispersions of organogels in detergents. For her Master thesis, she will study in the field of origin of life.
Lab 26.32.00.62 Labphone 14868
Bachelor-Students and teaching/lab assistants
student assistant for lecture experiments
Floor/Room: O1.64
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