team

OUR LAB VALUES

We are a dynamic, ambitious, enthusiastic and open-minded lab.

As researchers we care about: curiosity, initiative, precision, collaboration, tenacity, honesty, respect.

Kilian Schober, principal investigator

Kilian studied Medicine at the Universities of Würzburg and London. After his MD thesis in the lab of Stephan Kissler at Harvard Medical School, Kilian trained to become a medical specialist for Microbiology, Virology and Epidemiology of Infections and joined the team of Dirk Busch at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) as a post-doctoral fellow. As of 2021, he has been a group leader at the Institute of Microbiology in Erlangen (FAU). In 2024, he became a Heisenberg Professor of T Cell Immunology.

Kilian loves cinema, is a cycling enthusiast and a life-long supporter of Borussia Dortmund.

Lucia Klotz, biotechnician

Lucia is a state-certified biotechnological assistant. After her apprenticeship in Isny in the Allgäu she worked for Sartorius Stedim Cellca in Ulm in the Bioprocess-Development Team. She is now excited to gain new experiences in Immunology.

In her free time, Lucia loves singing, travelling with her camper and spending time outside while hiking or skiing.

Ev-Marie Schuster, postdoc

Ev-Marie studied Molecular Medicine at Ulm University. After her master thesis at the University of Padova, she completed her PhD thesis at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg, where she investigated how lysosomal stress signaling influences the metabolic reprogramming and anti-microbial response of macrophages.

In her free time, Ev-Marie loves creative cooking and painting and enjoys board game nights with friends.

Nikolaj Pagh Kristensen, postdoc

Nikolaj holds a MSc in Immunology and Inflammation from the University of Copenhagen. He completed his PhD in the lab of Sine Reker Hadrup (Technical University of Denmark) studying antigen-specific CD8 T cells using barcode-labelled pMHC multimers.

In his spare time, Nikolaj enjoys lifting weights and playing Dungeon and Dragons with his friends.

Myriam Grotz, postdoc

Myriam studied Molecular Medicine at FAU Erlangen. After her MSc degree in Molecular Parasitology at Salford University, UK, she returned to FAU for her PhD in the group of Michaela Petter, working on the epigenetic mechanisms in sexual differentiation of Plasmodium falciparum parasites.

In her free time, Mimi enjoys baking cakes, learning languages and spending time in the garden.

Michael Hiltensperger, postdoc

Michael studied Technical Biology at the University of Stuttgart and performed his MSc thesis at Yale University in the lab of Martin Kriegel. He then moved to Munich to do his PhD in the lab of Thomas Korn at the Technical University of Munich, where he studied the role of T helper cells in the context of central nervous system autoimmunity. Afterwards, Michael became a postdoc at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) to identify tumor-specific neoantigens.

Michael loves to play table tennis, watch TV shows, and play games.

Carolin Moosmann, PhD student

Carolin studied Biochemistry at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). During her master thesis, she characterized the in vitro functionality of human antigen-reactive T cell receptors for adoptive cell therapy.

Carolin enjoys spending time in the mountains, embarking on DIY projects for children's camps and is looking for the perfect homemade bread recipe.

Philipp Hilgendorf, PhD student

Philipp studied Biology at the Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). During his master thesis at TUM, he investigated the cross-reactivity landscape of antigen-specific T cell receptors in murine in vitro and in vivo models.

Philipp is a drummer, likes swimming and has a passion for photography.

Sina Frischholz, PhD student

Sina studied Molecular Medicine at the University of Regensburg. During her master thesis in the Schober Lab, she profiled the metabolism of human antigen-reactive T cells after yellow fever vaccination. She thereby became the lab's first graduate.

Sina enjoys cooking, travelling and spending time in nature.

Julia Benz, PhD student

Julia studied Molecular Medicine at the universities of Freiburg and Innsbruck. Her master thesis focused on investigating the role of nuclear receptors on the development and function of murine macrophages.

In her free time, Julia enjoys movie nights with friends, reading and travelling.

Elif Karay, PhD student

Elif studied Molecular Biology and Genetics at Boğaziçi University in Turkey before moving to Germany to complete her M.Sc. degree at the University of Göttingen in the International Max Planck Research School for Molecular Biology. Her master’s thesis at the German Primate Center (DPZ) focused on an engineered NK cell receptor.

In her free time, Elif enjoys painting, travelling, and playing the kalimba and flute.

Eva Brunner, PhD student

Eva studied Applied Biochemistry at the Nuremberg Institute of Technology. During her master thesis she functionally investigated eosinophils in cutaneous leishmaniasis.

In her free time Eva enjoys hiking, horse riding, listening to audiobooks and spending time with family and friends.

Mariana Sousa, research assistant

Mariana studied Biomedical Research at the University of Lisbon. During her master thesis, she studied the role of reticulocytes in the establishment of severe malaria. She is now curious to explore the world of Immunology.

Mariana loves travelling, hiking and hanging out with friends.

Elischka Schumacher, intern

Elischka studied Molecular Life Sciences at the University of Hamburg (UHH). During her bachelor‘s thesis, she investigated the nuclear import of AKT in cancer cells. Currently, she is studying Molecular Medicine at the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, during which her fascination with the immune system, especially T cells, is constantly growing.

Elischka enjoys travelling, reading and spending time with her friends.

Changmin Yoo, intern

Min is a master’s student in Integrated Immunology at FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg. Originally from Korea, he earned his bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biotechnology before moving to Germany. Changmin is currently working on a BCR/TCR sequencing project as an intern, gaining hands-on experience in wet-lab techniques.

In his free time, Changmin enjoys cooking and painting Warhammer 40K miniatures.