We at the MDC

In the weeks following the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the victims received large amounts of international aid – including from the Max Delbrück Center. Now, three months later, the situation remains precarious and there is still an urgent need for assistance.

Peran Hayes, who took part in the "Back to the Roots Program", teaches students how to build their own microscope. For „We at the MDC”, he explains how a university course in Ghana has transformed into a West-African research network.

The pianist SooJin Anjou and the scientist Nikolaus Rajewsky are both experts in their respective fields. Together, they have created the event series “Spark”: a concert and meet-up for creative people, an exploration to learn from both sides. On March 13th, the series continued at MDC-BIMSB.

For Ukrainian graduate students, it can be a struggle to balance their careers and their worries about the war and their loved ones. A profile of two Ukrainian friends who work at the Max Delbrück Center now – one year after they had to flee from Kyiv.

Innovative biomedical research requires cutting-edge technologies, good ideas and a wealth of expertise. To ensure that technology platforms and research teams at the MDC make optimal use of investments and new equipment, Jutta Steinkötter initiated 13 “tandems” in late 2022 and awarded them a total of €300,000.

Digitalization is in full swing, and the Max Delbrück Center is no exception. Arno Edinger and his team in the IT Department are responsible for implementing this process throughout the research center. The aim is not to digitalize employees out of existence, but rather to free them from annoying routine tasks that waste their time.

As a PhD student at the international iNAMES Research School, neuroscientist Gamze Güney is researching temperature perception at the Max Delbrück Center. As part of the “We at the MDC” series, Güney talks about the first iNAMES symposium at MDC-BIMSB and her time at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

Viola Ehrig is the green-fingered gardener who works hard to ensure it’s not only science and innovation that flourish at the Berlin-Buch campus, but trees and flowers as well. She and her colleague Steve Kossack provide stimulating surroundings for everyone at the science campus, including employees of the MDC.

Giving voice to the academic, social, and economic needs of PhD students at the MDC – that is the goal of the PhD Representatives. Their main concerns include equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as a stronger sense of solidarity.

Isolate DNA, ask questions, make new friends: During the Easter holidays, refugee children and young people from Ukraine were able to take part in free experimentation courses and experience guided tours of MDC research laboratories at the Berlin-Buch Campus.