Rose Burden
Since 2018 I have worked at the MDC for the postdoc office (Career Center). I am responsible for organizing training events and workshops for the postdoc community, including our Career Day and Career Pathways Seminar series. The postdoc office works closely with the MDC Postdoc Association to organize events and represent the views of the postdoc community.

Giovanna Diletta Ielacqua
I was born in Italy, where I also got my Veterinary degree and veterinary license. In 2012, I moved to Zurich for my medical doctoral study at UZH. Two years later I started a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering at ETH Zurich focusing on functional MRI in mouse and rat's models of acute and chronic pain. In 2018, I moved onto my first Postdoc at Stanford University, California, where I investigated arousal circuits in mice through optogenetic fMRI. Just before the pandemic hit, I managed to move back to Europe in March 2020 where I started my second Postdoc at the MDC in Berlin. Throughout my academic career I have been involved in teaching and mentoring programs and the Association of Women in Science. I am part of the postdoc association at the MDC and we organize seminars, social events and the annual Berlin postdoc day!

Desislava Bögner
I am originally from Cuba. I completed my Ph.D. at the AWI and the Jacobs University Bremen in 2013. Since 2016, I am back at the AWI as a postdoc in the working group Aquaculture Research and the section on Bioeconomy. I realised, how detached my working group and my section were from postdoc activities. Many postdocs did not know of the existence of a postdoc team or what it does, so I decided in 2018 to join the team to change that somehow. I was involved in salary issues and the organisation of the colloquium. Last year, we achieved a more transparent procedure for placing new postdocs into salary categories and invited interesting guests to the speak at the AWI. I am willing to work further in the postdoc team as I see, we can change many things to improve postdocs’ lives and who knows, maybe we can serve for better career perspectives for all of us.

Cara Nissen
I have a PhD in Biogeochemical Modeling of the Southern Ocean from ETH Zürich and arrived at AWI for my first postdoc in January 2020, currently working on the interactions between marine biogeochemistry, ocean circulation, and the cryosphere in the Weddell Sea. I joined the Postdoc team last year in order to engage with „higher levels“ at the institute and start discussions about the issues that Early Career Researchers are facing. Additionally, having been quite new at AWI when the pandemic hit, joining the postdoc team was a great way to meet other postdocs at the institute.  

Elena Lichtenthaler (MA) und Martin R. Lichtenthaler (PhD, MBA)

Elena and Martin are seasoned improvisers and applied improvisation consultants. They have worked with various Helmholtz Research Centres, the Junge Akademie, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and San Quentin State Prison.
Elena holds an MA in Chinese Studies, as well as a BSc in Economics from the University of Freiburg, Martin a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Freiburg as well as an MBA from the Collège des Ingénieurs, Paris.
Elena and Martin have proven track records in academia, think tanks and the private sector. Both have lived and worked in the USA, China and Japan, last as postdoctoral and visiting scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.

During his doctorate, Daniel was already working at the German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt – UBA) in parallel. Today, still working at UBA, he continues to work at UFZ as a visiting scientist. Take the opportunity to ask Daniel questions about his career so far or how do you apply best for a job at the German Environment Agency.  

Nina Bessing is a communication trainer, coach and organizational developer. As a trainer and coach she is specialized in the field of unconscious bias, inclusive leadership, powerful communication, personal growth and branding. As an organizational developer her expertise lies in the topics of women in management positions and diversity management. Nina Bessing has conducted diversity trainings for Deutsche Bahn, BASF, Porsche, FU Berlin, TU Berlin, Investitionsbank Berlin, Landesbank Berlin, Caritas, Deutsche Telekom and many other organizations.  She worked for more than ten years as a project manager and division manager in research.
Nina Bessing studied economics and business administration in Berlin.