My name is Sarah Masser and I am currently a visiting graduate student working in the Sellers lab at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Within my stay in the Sellers lab in the Cancer Program, undertaken as part of my ongoing PhD in the Stelzl Lab (University of Graz), we aim to investigate and uncover new aspects and possible mechanisms of dependencies in cancer. Besides doing research at this incredible institute, I was able to experience the American culture and the ‘big city life’ for the first time in my everyday life and I look forward to any free time where I can discover and explore...

Since arriving in San Diego a few weeks ago, my experience has been nothing short of amazing. Being a researcher at the San Diego State University's Biomass Engineering Laboratory has been an opportunity of a lifetime, providing me with the chance to be a part of a great team and work on my own project focused on optimizing the extraction process of biopolymers (PHB) from microalgae for bioplastics production. In addition to my work, San Diego has a lot to offer for weekend and evening explorations. Among my favorite experiences so far was a visit to the desert. The desert landscape's beauty...

My name is Alena Akhmetshina and I am a PhD student enrolled in the international PhD program “Metabolic and Cardiovascular Disease (DK-MCD)” at the Medical University of Graz. I perform my PhD thesis entitled “Lysosomal lipid breakdown in bone and muscle growth” under the supervision of Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dagmar Kratky. Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of fracture and impaired bone homeostasis, driven by altered lipid metabolism in osteoblasts. However, the molecular mechanism has not been fully described. In addition to bone forming osteoblasts, recent...

"ChatGPT, DALL-E and my research project have one thing in common: They all rely on the cutting-edge research of deep learning and offer a exciting future in their individual domains. Given a pre-trained model which understands the connection between the sequence of a protein - the basic building blocks and machines of every living organism - and its structure, I try to make it an expert (fine-tune it to be precise) on the problem of antibody-target interactions. Antibodies play a vital role in the immune system and being able to predict whether or not an antibody - only given the sequence -...

My Name is Michael Pointl and I am PhD candidate at Graz University of Technology’s Institute of Urban Water Management, where I work on monitoring concepts and modelling approaches for smart water distribution systems. Gathering and analyzing high-resolution water demand data for my dissertation brought me to the Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering and Mechanics at the University of Arizona. I have been living in Tucson since October and while I will be staying here for four more months, the spirit of the university and the culture of American Southwest have already made my time...

Currently I am experiencing my six-month master's internship at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health (Human Factors & Ergonomics Program) at the University of California, Berkeley, where I am working on a study to evaluate exoskeletons in simulated construction environments. The goal of the study is to investigate the usability and safety of three different exoskeletons, while donning and doffing the devices, maneuvering in constrained spaces, balancing, and walking and climbing stairs and ladders. An exoskeleton is a wearable device that enhances the physical abilities of...

My research project addresses how anamorphic cine lenses influence cinematography. I am analyzing different types of lenses used by international cinematographers. I will break down technical aspects of such lenses and discuss how creativity in filmmaking is reliant upon technological progress. During my time here at Utah Valley University I already had a lot of great experiences. The faculty is very engaged with the students. In certain courses we get the very valuable opportunities to speak with industry professionals. I already got to work on numerous film sets and I am sure there is more...