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Rise, Run & Research

by Hanna Gröber, doctoral candidate in Immunology, 3 February 2022
This was my very first race representing Germany. It was a 19km challenge, up and downhill race in the beautiful Val Bregaglia by Chiavenna (ITA). (photo credit: Marco Gulberti)

Running and research share more similarities than just a first initial. Some perspectives of a doctoral candidate and competitive runner with a passion for long distances (and other challenges).

Coincidentally, both my love for running and interest in scientific research were sparked during my year as a 10th grade exchange student in New Mexico (US). A very hands-on biology course with an enthusiastic teacher instilled my passion for life sciences, and a natural curiosity and endurance have stayed with me ever since.

I discovered my fascination for the field of immunology at the University of Tuebingen, but moved to the US once more, during my third year of undergraduate studies. In both my bachelor’s and master’s thesis I worked, again, with a motivated young immunology professor in a small lab studying “dirty mice”. Seems a bit odd!? Well, research has shown that our immune systems only fully develops if it gets exposed to different external pathogens, such as viruses and bacteria. It basically gets schooled the same way we do as we grow up!
Thankful for an amazing opportunity to enjoy great science presentations, present my own poster, and get inspired at the 2021 Wolfsberg Conference of Young Immunologists. (photo credit: Hanna Gröber)
Currently, I have switched focus slightly and study how different immune cells with awesome names such as T-Rex ehm Tregs (regulatory T cells) and “natural killer cells” (NK cells) interplay to prevent autoimmune reactions from happening. In healthy humans, several mechanisms are in place to prevent our immune cells from attacking “self”. The adaptive immune response only gets turned “on” when several checkpoints are passed. A simple analogy would be the process of starting a car: First, you need the right key (or an electronic card) to get access and start the engine. In our body, this first lock-and-key system is a specific receptor (the key) on adaptive immune cells (e.g. T cells) that recognise a unique “lock”, so called “Major Histocompatibility complexes” that present a piece of a cell or a pathogen (such as a virus “antigen”). There also needs to be several additional receptors interacting. To stay with our car analogy: You cannot start driving right away, but you need to put in a gear before pushing the gas pedal. Additionally, you might also want to release the “handbrake”. In our body, you can think of this handbrake as additional molecules called “cytokines” that stimulate the immune cells to become fully functional. But since I don’t drive much and prefer to run (or take the train), let’s end our auto excursion here.
I unexpectedly won Bronze in this first international race and only my 4th mountain race ever by mustering everything I had and passing the 3rd girl just half a kilometer before the finish line. (photo credit: Marco Gulberti)
Even though I passed her just before the finish, running is all about camaraderie. (photo credit: Marco Gulberti)
Running and science might seem very different at first glance, but I think it is no coincidence that I am passionate about both. The settings are different, but the approaches are similar: Both competing and working in research require a lot of patience, perseverance, and meticulous planning. Despite all hard work, whether that means getting up at 5:30 am to do a workout or start a long experiment, one is not rewarded immediately— or even worse, both training and lab work can be frustrated by minor details which make the difference between success and failure). To submit a scientifically solid research paper, or cross a finish line with a big PR and earn a medal, both require continuous work, and is hard to not get discouraged in the face of failures and injuries. Usually, when one facet of life (running or research) seems to go down the drain, the other one gives me solace— and vice versa.

There are also several misconceptions about working on a doctoral candidacy, and competitive long-distance running. While it sounds tedious to focus solely on a specific topic, or “put one step in front of the other”, neither ever get boring. As a doctoral candidate I wear multiple hats (just not the final one yet): I am a student— still learning, but also an educator teaching lab courses. Sometimes, I am my own secretary and planner, but also a writer and a graphic designer. I present, discuss, and listen, conduct my own experiments like a lab technician, and since immunologists work with mice, I breed and take care of my own animals… And then there are lab shifts, conferences, meetings, and collaborations too. The only time I was ever bored was during my first two weeks as a doctoral candidate.
This was a dream coming true: I earned my second medal at a German Championship and placed completely unexpectedly 3rd in a PB of 1:14,27 h in the half marathon in Hamburg Oct 21. (photo credit: Michael Burmeister)
Similarly, running might seem literally like a very repetitive sport, but it can have unbelievable permutations. I usually run 6 times a week and in the mornings before work. If I have a long workout (sometimes over 20 km) I frequently get up at 5:30 am. The motivation: getting to eat breakfast twice 😉! My hard workouts are something like a “Fartlek” (Swedish running slang that translates into “speedplay”), where I alternate between faster running and an easy recovery. Or I do a so-called tempo run at a certain pace. Sometimes, I have set distance intervals at specific paces, for example 4x3 km or 400m intervals on the track. Or I do hill repetitions, progression runs or even a mix of the above. Then I have “normal” runs, easy runs (“jogging”), strides and 30s “pickups” as well as a longer run. I also do strength training and so-called “cross training” such as road biking (Rennvelo) in summer, swimming year-round and cross-country skiing in winter, which helps me stay injury-free. Thus, my training never gets boring and my coach Michi Rüegg does a great job with perpetually finding new challenges.
I am thankful I got to live my dream and study and run for Grand Valley State University in Michigan, US. I helped to earn multiple Team National Championship Titles (here winning the NCAA D2 National Cross Country Championships). (photo credit: Alan Steible)
I love the nature in St Moritz and the challenge of training at altitude. Sharing our passion makes it even better (Fabienne Schlumpf left, Chiara Scherrer right). (photo credit: Michi Rüegg)
I love running in Switzerland: St Moritz and the Engadin Valley have a special place in my heart. The best is when I get to run with my Team TG Hütten there. (photo credit: Michi Rüegg)
My favorite part of being an athlete are the races all over Europe. Through running, I have experienced awesome sunrises in the Engadin Valley, Italy, Portugal or California. Training camps are a lot of fun too, and in my opinion, one of the best ways to spend my holidays: admiring beautiful nature and “indulging” in exhausting training sessions. The infamous German saying, “Geteiltes Leid ist halbes Leid” (shared suffering is half the suffering”) might have been invented by a runner.
My lab group and amazing colleagues
This is the Oxenius Lab. You can also follow our research on Twitter (photo credit: Fabienne Gräbnitz)
But training doesn’t always mean hard “all-out” efforts, and a doctoral candidacy luckily doesn’t just consist of super-long lab days. In a lot of ways, running (and, most endurance sports) can be surprisingly social, something I experience with my teammates from TG Hütten and my colleagues at the Oxenius Lab. While most of the work is solitary, only by working together can you gain new perspectives and fulfill your potential. The only big difference is that at the end of the process you either earn a hat, a medal —or a big cobblestone, in case of a mountain race.

Links

Oxenius Lab (@LabOxenius) / Twitter
Hanna Gröber (@fastcurioushanna) • Instagram photos and videos
Welcome - fast&curious - Hanna Gröber (fastcurioushanna.com)

About the author

Hi! I am Hanna, 25 years young, and working towards my doctorate’s degree in Immunology at ETH Zurich in beautiful Switzerland. Outside the lab, literally speaking, I am also a passionate (and competitive) long-distance runner for TG Hütten and LAV Stadtwerke Tübingen, and love to run anything longer than a 3k, whether it is on the roads, in circles, through the mud or in the mountains.
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