We at the MDC

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.

Claudia Jacob is a trained biologist who has a passion for explaining how things work. As head of the Life Science Learning Lab (Gläsernes Labor) on Campus Berlin-Buch, she gives schoolchildren a hands-on opportunity to explore the life sciences – from conducting lab experiments to discussing ideas with scientists – and perhaps even a chance to become a scientist themselves one day.

Colleagues are donating money for medicines, working groups are offering jobs for Ukrainian researchers, and the student lab is opening its doors to children from Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has inspired great solidarity at the MDC. Overview.

Since always scientists have been documenting their lab research by hand. Now it is time for a digital solution. In this interview for “We at the MDC,” research data manager Dr. Özlem Özkan explains how a new electronic lab notebook is set to change working life for researchers at the MDC.

Since 2015, the Silent Hero Award has been presented every autumn at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC). Instead of focusing on individuals, this year's award went to teams: teams that had a special impact during the Corona pandemic.

When it comes to making contracts or sharing research results, the Legal Department is there to make things run smoothly. Kirstin Bodensiek, the department’s head, explains in an interview why communication is the be-all and end-all in her job and what it all has to do with volleyball.

If you’ve ever survived the onset of winter in the Arctic, you can hopefully keep your cool when hackers attack. Karsten Häcker, CIO at the MDC, tells us how adventure holidays help him keep his composure at work. And he reveals what Swiss cheese has to do with IT.