This question has been the driving force behind my career, beginning with my first research experience. As an undergraduate, I studied how metabolic stress alters gene expression to drive bacterial virulence, where I first became interested in stress-responsive gene regulation and the idea that environmental cues can alter cellular behavior. I then worked in a spinal cord injury (SCI) research group, where I developed viral vectors and cell transplantation protocols for axonal regeneration and studied the mechanisms underlying spontaneous regeneration. This work raised a key question: why do neurons differ in their intrinsic capacity to respond to injury?

In my Master’s research at the MPI for Brain Research, I developed a quantitative imaging approach to map newly synthesized proteins in neuronal compartments, showing that neuronal molecular architecture is functionally compartmentalized and responsive to localized extrinsic signals. As a doctoral student with Prof. Amparo Acker-Palmer at Goethe University Frankfurt, I defined how VEGF from glial, neuronal, and vascular sources signals through compartment-specific receptor trafficking to regulate hippocampal circuit development. Together, these studies established how the cellular environment instructs neuronal structure and function through spatially defined signaling.

Now, I use transcriptomic approaches to study how metabolic stress affects different cell types in Alzheimer’s pathophysiology. These experiences have converged on my current effort: to understand how metabolic stress reprograms the intrinsic physiological state of neurons and glia in Alzheimer’s disease, and, ultimately, other neurodegenerative diseases.

Before my Ph.D. studies, I worked for several years with Dr. Armin Blesch as a research technician in spinal cord injury (SCI) research, first at UCSD and later at the University of Heidelberg SCI Clinic in Heidelberg, Germany. Our group focused on targeted gene therapy-based approaches to promote axonal regeneration and circuit formation after SCI, while also targeting key aspects of the injury site, including neurodegeneration, glial scar formation, and inflammation. The move to Heidelberg offered an immensely rewarding opportunity to transition from a traditional academic environment to a more interdisciplinary, patient-oriented setting. At the SCI clinic in Heidelberg, I worked with doctors, basic research scientists, engineers developing robotics and prosthetic limbs, and physiotherapists. Together, we worked not only to treat but also to understand the full clinical picture of our patients, with the goal of improving clinical treatments and patient mobility.

This interdisciplinary experience left me with two profound lessons that have continued to shape my scientific career. First, with input from patients who had accepted the loss of walking ability and become more focused on quality of life, my former boss completely changed his research focus from neuronal regeneration to pain and bladder control. Second, the gap between our understanding of neuronal function across scales, from genes to physiology to circuits, and our ability to manipulate the regenerative properties of neurons remains too large for direct implementation into patient therapies. Neither of these lessons would have resonated with me as deeply without the direct interactions and input I received from the clinic’s patients. Because of this, I was driven to pursue my master’s and Ph.D. in neuroscience, aiming to build a scientific career with a specific focus on human translational research.

I am proud to have helped build neuroscience outreach and training programs that support the next generation of scientists. As a PhD student in Frankfurt, I co-founded the Deutsche Neurowissenschaften Olympiade e.V. (DNO), the German national branch of the International Brain Bee, a neuroscience competition that inspires high school students to pursue careers in neuroscience. Together with my co-founders, I helped expand the program to four German cities (Berlin, Bonn, Heidelberg, and Frankfurt) and led a network of more than 60 postdocs and PhD students who engaged approximately 200 students annually. At the Frankfurt location, I led a 16-member team, trained scientists in science communication, and secured a five-year educational partnership with the Hertie Foundation. I also helped launch Brain Bee programs in the Netherlands and Argentina, broadening my perspective on how neuroscience education can connect students and scientists across countries and training environments.

I also worked to address structural gaps in academic career development. I created a teaching training program that provided postdocs at non-university research institutions, including the Max Planck Institutes, with a pathway to earn habilitation teaching credits. I organized workshops connecting PhD students with pharmaceutical and technology companies and led career development events attended by 200–300 participants. Across these initiatives, I secured more than €250,000 to support neuroscience education and cross-institutional collaboration at local, national, and international levels. I am proud that many of the programs I helped initiate are still running today, led by dedicated people who continue to sustain and expand them. As a postdoc at Yale, I have continued my commitment to neuroscience outreach and community building. In addition to mentoring and training students, I am coaching local community leaders as they develop mentoring programs for children. I am also working on my first neuroscience book for children, which follows a young girl as she explores and understands the world around her through science.