Mona grew up in Achern, a city in southern Germany at the foot of the Black Forest. During high school, she chose biology as one of her main subjects and never looked back. After finishing school, she wanted to see the world and ventured on the strenuous, demanding, 50 km journey to Karlsruhe. There, she did her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, both in biology, both at KIT. Being serious about traveling this time, she celebrated her Master’s degree by going on a journey through south Asia for six months. She saw a lot and ate even more, but eventually grew tired of the incredible food, the blue skies and the crystal-clear sea. She’s therefore taking a well-deserved vacation from traveling and started her PhD at Hilbert Lab. Here, she’s investigating the structural organisation of gene activation during cell differentiation. She does so by means of fluorescent labelling and super-resolution microscopy. When she’s not at the microscope, she enjoys spending time with her 99 housemates. Mona is also in the process of finishing up an apprenticeship in journalism. If all else fails, she does strength training. She’s not strong yet though – that’s why she’s still training.
