Meet our Speakers

Position
Junior Research Group Leader for AI-based morphomolecular analysis

Institution
University Clinic Giessen-Marburg, Justus Liebig University

Dr. Daniel Amsel is the junior research group leader of the BMBF-funded AI-RON group at the Institute of Neuropathology at Justus Liebig University Giessen. His work focuses on AI-supported precision medicine in neuro-oncology, bridging medical bioinformatics and computer-assisted histopathology.
In addition to his academic career, he is actively involved in research transfer and entrepreneurship as a co-initiator of the start-up project Coded Network Semantics, which received multiple awards, including first place at the JLU IdeaSlam, third place at HessenIdeen, and distinctions at the Capital Contest.

Position
Clinical Research Associate

Company
Alcedis GmbH

During her doctoral training, Dr. Marie Suzanne Dippel was actively involved in the International Giessen Graduate Centre for the Life Sciences, Mentoring Hessen while applying advanced methods such as ELISA and flow cytometry in translational research. She specialized in immunology, focusing on regulatory mechanisms of the innate immune system, particularly monocytes and macrophages, within the Clinic for General and Thoracic Surgery (Section of Experimental Surgery). After earning her doctorate (Dr. rer. nat.) at Justus Liebig University Giessen in January 2025, she transitioned from academia into the clinical research industry, joining Alcedis company as Clinical Research Associate.

Dr. vet. med. Dominik Fischer

Position
Curator and Veterinarian

Institution
Zoo Düsseldorf

Position
Associate Director Test-Service

Company
BioNTech SE

Former GGL member Julia Gotthardt started working at Tecan Software Competence Center GmbH as a Junior Software Verification Engineer. Using her skills and experience from her doctoral project, she rapidly climbed the career ladder and achieved the position of the Senior Software Verification Engineer after five and a half years. In 2023 she transitioned to BioNTech SE working as Test-Service Manager. Already after one and half years she was promoted to Associate Director Test-Service at BioNTech SE in 2025.

Position
Medical Science Liaison Manager

Company
Sanofi S.A.

Dr. Corinna Heck earned her PhD in Immunology and Rheumatology from Justus Liebig University Giessen, where she built a strong foundation in translational biomedical research. During her doctoral studies, she part-time trained in skills related to pharmaceutical industries such as drug approval or quality assurance. In 2023, she transitioned into industry at Sanofi, joining the Manufacturing & Supply Trainee program, where she gained broad exposure to pharmaceutical operations. Since April 2025, she has been working as a Medical Science Liaison Manager in Rheumatology at Sanofi.

Position
Project Associate/Facilitator

Institution
Entrepreneurship Cluster Mittelhessen

Manuel Trier is a mechanical engineer with several years of industry experience in process and product development, including roles at Carl Zeiss and EssilorLuxottica. Alongside his technical career, he has specialized in facilitation, agile coaching, and human-centered innovation. He currently works as a Project Associate and Facilitator at ECM startup-center at Justus Liebig University Giessen, contributing to the development of a digital and innovation hub with a focus on Design Thinking, AI, and startup support. His work bridges technical systems and human collaboration in innovation-driven environments.

Position
Project Associate

Institution
Entrepreneurship Cluster Mittelhessen

Jonathan Weinert works as a Project Associate at the ECM, the start-up center at Justus Liebig University Giessen. He supports early-stage teams with hands-on founder experience and a strong engineering background, focusing on practical digital tooling, prototyping, and structured validation from first idea to the next concrete milestone. Alongside his role at ECM, he is co-founder and Managing Director of AQUAI GmbH and co-creator of SwimLoop, an AI-supported home swimming training system. AQUAI was supported by an EXIST start-up grant, and SwimLoop achieved 4th place in the Gründerpreis Baden-Württemberg 2024 competition.

Position
Coordinator for Alumni and Industry Collaboration

Institution
GGL, Justus Liebig University

Dr. Dörthe Kesper studied biology at Philipps University Marburg, where she earned her doctoral degree in the group led by Renate Renkawitz-Pohl. Her research focused on developmental biology, particularly exploring the role of the rols gene in myoblast fusion in Drosophila melanogaster. Since 2006, she has held postdoctoral positions at Lund University, the University of Duisburg-Essen, and the Philipps-University Marburg. In 2015, she transitioned to industry, working as a Regulatory and Site Services Specialist at Covance and later as a Packaging and Labelling Specialist for clinical studies at CSL Behring. Despite her industry roles, she maintained a strong interest in teaching; from 2019 to 2025, she worked as a freelance tutor for the distance learning program "Molecular Biology" at SpringerNature. In 2025, she joined the GGL as a Coordinator for Alumni and Industry Cooperation, bringing her combined experience from academia and industry to the position. In her talk she will give a brief insight into the current job market for life scientists.

Position
Vice President, Sales & Projects

Company
BIOMEX GmbH

Manish Kumar earned his PhD in Life Sciences at the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research and Justus Liebig University Giessen, where he was also a member of IMPRS and the GGL graduate program. Following completion of his doctorate, he continued in academia as a Postdoctoral Researcher and later served as a BMBF/DAAD-funded instructor supporting PhD student development.
He then transitioned to industry, beginning in strategy consulting before moving into product management roles across several life science organizations. Prior to joining BIOMEX as Vice President, Sales & Projects, Manish served as Associate Director of Product Management at Metabolon, Inc., based in Raleigh, USA.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Manish is the founder of Biology Career Insights, a platform dedicated to career development and dialogue within the life sciences community, and the author of the book From Academia to Industry: A PhD’s Guide to Career Transition.

Position
PCMO Coordinator at GGL Postdoc Programme 

Institution
GGL, Justus Liebig University

Dr. Michael Streuber studied Biotechnology at the University of Applied Sciences in Bremerhaven. In 2016, he joined Prof. Jacob Odeberg's lab at the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. He completed his master's thesis at TRON-Translational Oncology in Next-Generation Sequencing under Dr. Valesca Bukur in Mainz, Germany. In 2017, Michael began his PhD at TRON supervised by Prof. Dr. Ugur Sahin, developing new single cell sequencing technologies and bioinformatics tools. His work involved various projects with TRON and BioNTech, exploring RNA immunotherapies in cancer and autoimmune disease models. After earning his PhD in 2024, he became one of our postdoc coordinators in 2025, aiding postdocs in skill development. He will present the academic postdoc career path as a professional option and report on how the GGL Postdoc Program supports postdocs in Life Sciences at JLU.

Position
Consultant/Trainer/Coach

Institution
Hesse/Schrader

Dr. Branko Woischwill is a consultant, trainer and coach at Hesse/Schrader, working with professionals and early-career talents since 2006. His focus areas include business etiquette, application and interview preparation, and practical communication skills for everyday work situations. He has published several books, including titles such as Trainee-Knigge.