After completing her dual studies in Biotechnology at the Technische Universität Berlin (Germany) and Dongseo University in Busan (South Korea), Loan received her PhD from the École Normale Supérieure in Lyon (France) where she trained with Prof. François-Loïc Cosset. She then pursued her interest in virology during two complementary postdoctoral phases in the labs of Prof. Darius Moradpour at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne (Switzerland) and Prof. Charles M. Rice at the Rockefeller University in New York (USA).

In 2018, Loan returned to Germany to join the Virology department at Heidelberg University Hospital as a Chica and Heinz Schaller Junior Research Group Leader.

When not doing science, Loan likes to travel and hike.

Andrew grew up in "The South" of the U.S., getting his Master's degree in North Carolina. As of 2017, he has been living in Germany, getting a feel for the European lifestyle.

Rebecca is from Canada and did her BSc in Biotechnology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She then did her MSc Infectious Diseases at University of Edinburgh in Scotland and worked during her Master thesis on Herpes Simplex Virus-1 viral entry. After the MSc, she worked as a research assistant at University of Edinburgh and did research on HIV-1 restriction factors.

Since February 2018, Rebecca joined the lab for her PhD studies on HEV host interactions.

Outside the lab she enjoys baking, reading, hiking and going to the gym.

Ann-Kathrin obtained a BSc in Molecular Biotechnology and completed her MSc in Molecular Biosciences/Infectious Diseases at Heidelberg University. During her Master thesis, she worked on establishing genetic tools in the malaria parasite Plasmodium knowlesi.

In April 2020, she joined the group as a PhD student to investigate the innate immune response in HEV-infected hepatocytes, supported by TRR179.

Outside the lab, Ann-Kathrin enjoys cycling, reading and drinking good coffee with friends.

Huanting received her BSc degree in Medicine from Soochow University in China. Then she completed her MSc program in Reproductive Sciences at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. Huanting joined our lab in November 2020 for her PhD studies on the immunotherapy of chronic HEV infection, supported by the DZIF.

In her free time, Huanting likes hiking and playing badminton.

Jun-Gen received his Bachelor and Master degrees in biology from Sichuan University, China. Jun-Gen joined the lab in February 2021 for his PhD studying HEV protein trafficking in liver ECM-based PSC-HLCs culture systems. His stay is supported by the China Scholarship Council.

Outside the lab he enjoys cooking, biking, hiking and photography.

After her BSc studies in Biology, Biochemistry, and Biotechnologies in Lyon, Sarah completed her first year of MSc in Infectiology at Université Paris Diderot and her second year MSc in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Université Paris Sorbonne. After her Master studies, she worked for almost 2 years at Fab’entech, a French biotech company.

Sarah joined the Dao Thi lab in September 2021 to study the innate immune response in HEV-infected intestinal cells.

She is passionate about mountains and outdoor sport, such as climbing, running, alpinism, and skiing. My state of mind is: "Where there is a will, there is a way. Passion is the fuel behind every successful career!"

Patrick obtained his bachelor degree from the TU Darmstadt in microbiology. He obtained his master degree from the TU Darmstadt/MPI in Marburg and the LMU in Munich in bacteriology. For his PhD, he transitioned to virology and joined our lab in January 2023. Generously funded by SFB1129, he will investigate the trafficking of the HEV ORF3 protein in polarized cells.

Outside of the lab he enjoys reading, going to the gym and too many other hobbies.

Paula obtained her Bachelor's and Master's degree in Biomedical Sciences in Marburg where she studied the Nipah Virus. In October 2024 she joined our lab for her PhD studies on the HEV life cycle.

Outside of the lab she enjoys photography, cooking and going to the gym.

Elif received her BSc degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Bilkent University, Ankara. She then completed her Master's degree in Developmental, Neural and Behavioral Biology in Göttingen, Germany, focusing her thesis work on neural differentiation of iPSCs. In October 2024, she joined Dao Thi's lab to work on HEV tropism and innate immune response with co-cultures of iPSC-derived immune and hepatocyte-like cells.

Outside the lab, she loves to take long walks in the forest, cuddle with her cat, and take up new hobbies from time to time.