Interviews with German researchers in the USA and Canada - 2021

Dr. Kristina Kuhbandner

(12/17/21) Neuroscientist Dr. Kristina Kuhbandner joined Professor Joachim Herz’s group at the Southwestern Medical Center of the University of Texas at Dallas in 2020 under the DFG’s Walter Benjamin program. There she conducts research into mouse models with the aim of gaining a better understanding of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Her interview with the DFG Office North America covered various topics such as her career, her research, cycling in Texas, and why Albrecht Dürer used motifs from the town of Kalchreuth near Nuremberg.

To interview

Dr. Henrik Larsson

(11/29/21) The theoretical chemist Dr. Henrik R. Larsson was at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena from December 2018 to November 2020 on a DFG research fellowship, where he investigated strongly correlated quantum systems in Prof. Garnet K.-L. Chan’s group. His interview with the DFG’s Office North America Office covered subjects such as his career to date, his current research, the similarity between California’s Central Valley and some parts of Schleswig-Holstein and Paul Klee’s humor.

To interview

Lucian Ionel

(11/02/21) The philosopher Lucian Ionel was at the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Philosophy for the past two years on a DFG grant. As a member of a team under the philosopher John McDowell, he worked on an articulation of human life. His interview with the DFG’s North American office covered subjects such as his career, his broader research interests, fundamental philosophical questions and transatlantic differences in the value of ignorance.

To interview

Agata Mossakowski

(09/22/21) Neurologist Agata Mossakowski is currently on a DFG research grant at the University of California, Davis, where she is researching rare muscle diseases in Keith Baar’s group. In her interview with the DFG Office North America, she talked about her current field of work, medical training in Germany, cuddly toys as an aid to falling asleep, and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

To interview

Dr. Tanja Khosrawipour

(08/19/21) Medical practitioner and life scientist Dr. Tanja Khosrawipour was a member of Alessio Pigazzi’s research group at the University of California in Irvine from January 2018 to December 2020 on a DFG research fellowship, where she used an animal model to study novel methods to treat peritoneal metastasis following advanced visceral tumours. She is now back in Germany and has been appointed Associate Professor in experimental surgery at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf. Her interview with the DFG Office North America covered subjects such as her career as an “overachiever,” her frequent stays in the USA, her research topic, working as a surgeon, and a key difference between idylls along the Californian coast and in the Ruhr Valley region.

To interview

Tim Kodalle

(07/30/21) Physicist Tim Kodalle is currently at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) in California on a Walter Benjamin Fellowship provided by the DFG, where he is working on optimizing solar cells in Carolin Sutter-Fella’s group. His interview with the DFG Office North America covered subjects such as his current research topic, international competition for beam time at a synchrotron, the problems with interfaces and some of the differences between a National Lab in the US and a Helmholtz Association facility.

To interview

Asgar Jamneshan

(06/24/21) Mathematician Asgar Jamneshan spent the past two years on a DFG grant at the Department of Mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he conducted research as a member of Terence Tao's group on “Extending Structural Results in Ergodic Theory and Applications.” He spoke with the North American office of the DFG about subjects such as his current research interests, the atmosphere at UCLA (which is also inspiring for mathematicians), the dialectic of chance, and about mathematically induced states of serenity.

To interview

Miriam Fichtner

(05/10/21) Medical scientist and neuroscientist Miriam Fichtner joined the Department of Neurology and Immunobiology at Yale University in New Haven, CT as a postdoc in February 2018 and has received funding as a DFG fellow since autumn 2019. As a member of Kevin O’Connor’s research group, she is looking to gain fresh insights into the autoimmune mechanisms of the nerve disease myasthenia gravis. In her interview with the DFG Office North America, she talked about her current research project and career goals, as well as subjects like Rafael Nadal’s forehand, beer vinegar and Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary – better known as Sisi.

To interview

Sinem Koç-Günel

(03/16/21) Clinical lung researcher Sinem Koc-Günel joined the group run by Amy Ryan (Firth) as a DFG fellow at the Hastings Center for Pulmonary Research, University of Southern California (USC), in Los Angeles in August 2020, where she is looking into new methods for treating a rare lung disease. In her interview with the DFG Office North America, she discussed her current research, her immigration background and her career goals, as well as talking about life in LA, using public transport there and surfing.

To interview

Iris Elser

(02/16/21) In autumn 2019, Dr. Iris Elser started her second postdoc – this time an international one – in Douglas Stephan’s group at the University of Toronto as a fellow of the German Research Foundation (DFG), where she is researching frustrated Lewis pairs. She spoke to the DFG Office North America about various topics, including her areas of interest, her professional ambitions, life in Canada in the late stages of the Trump era, and cooking.

To interview

Dr. Laurel Raffington

(01/26/21) Dr. Laurel Raffington is a developmental psychologist funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) from January 2019 until May 2021 to conduct a research project at the Department of Psychology and Population Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Raffington examines the effects of social inequality on child and adolescent development, integrating psychological, endocrinological, genetic and epigenetic data of twin children in Texas. She spoke to the DFG Office North America about her project, the challenges researchers face in balancing their work and personal lives, her professional ambitions and special characteristics of the state of Texas.