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!