Eva Schmid, Ph.D., leads the Scientific Training Unit at the Vienna Biocenter. Her team designs and implements innovative and comprehensive training programs for all levels at the Vienna BioCenter to benefit a cohesive and thriving community. Eva holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK and worked for more than a decade on various interdisciplinary projects at UC Berkeley in the US. Besides her passion for science, she is motivated by a deep interest in people and communities. This led to a transition in her career to enable groundbreaking research on a broader level – by empowering curious young researchers to acquire the skills to succeed in the modern scientific landscape.  

Jean-Paul currently serves as Head of Human Resources at CeMM, an interdisciplinary research institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences committed to advancing the understanding of human diseases through basic and biomedical research. Before that he worked as Human Resources Manager for the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) with more than 110 independent research groups and service teams covering the spectrum of molecular biology at six sites in Barcelona, Grenoble, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Hinxton (EMBL-EBI), and Rome. Following his law studies, he was also educated in France at the Sorbonne University where he earned an MSc in Human Resources Development, has an Advanced Certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management from Cornell University, and is a Certified Professional from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Kanako Aono MSc, is a student recruiter at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), where she guides prospective students in pursuing PhD opportunities. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Japan and a Master's degree from the UK. Previously, she led the Student Recruitment Team at Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and worked at the Japanese Embassies in Saudi Arabia and Hungary, managing the Japanese Government MEXT Scholarship Program to support international students studying in Japan.

Antonia completed her Bachelor's and Master's studies in Life Science at the University of Konstanz, Germany. Following this, she relocated to the IMP in Vienna to pursue her PhD in Molecular Biology. During her doctoral research, she focused on unraveling the structure and function of the protein interaction network of myosin. In 2021, Antonia completed her PhD and subsequently decided to transition into Doctoral Education. She currently is the executive manager of the Doctoral School of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Vienna. Drawing from her own experience in Life Science research, Antonia is dedicated to ensuring that PhD students enjoy a fruitful and rewarding journey throughout their Doctoral Studies.

Dr. Julia Reiter is a post doc researcher at the University of Vienna’s Faculty of Psychology. Her research focuses on adolescents’ political development, activism and radicalization, as well as on societal intergroup conflicts, marginalization, discrimination and social justice. She is also one of three employees in the VDS CoBeNe office which works to support the PhD candidates’ needs. With her extensive knowledge and experience as a former doctoral candidate at the VDS CoBeNe, she is dedicated to actively supporting young scientists in their development. Understanding the challenges and needs of emerging researchers, she offers valuable guidance and mentorship to help them achieve their academic and professional goals.

Brenda Stride is Deputy Head of Internal Scientific Training and Fellowship Programmes Lead at EMBL. She and her team are responsible for EMBL's International PhD and Postdoctoral Programmes. She did her PhD in Biochemistry at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada. She has held positions in both industry and scientific publishing and enjoys using her diverse experiences to support EMBL fellows in her current role.

Dr. Marta Cipinska is a coordinator of the MDC PhD Exchange Program in Medical Systems Biology and works closely with the MDC Graduate Office, organizing seminars and lecture series, and facilitating international partnerships.

She pursued her studies in Poland, Germany, and the UK before earning her doctoral degree in the field of molecular biology from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany.

Previously, she served as the IMPRS coordinator at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, where she refined her skills in managing and developing doctoral education programs.

Lucia Sironi currently holds the position of Scientific Coordinator for the IMPRS-LM PhD program. She started her academic career in Italy and trained as a biochemist, earning her PhD at the European Institute of Oncology in Milano. She then moved to Germany and worked first as a postdoctoral researcher at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and then as a staff scientist at the University of Konstanz. During her journey Lucia realised that she enjoyed more mentoring students and young scientists rather than doing her own experiments. As a PhD program coordinator, she can now focus on guiding students during their initial steps towards scientific independence.

Aligned with our IMPRS, our Head of Academic Office has an interdisciplinary background. Cassandra’s PhD work was in computational cognitive science, leveraging Bayesian models to query the nature of human decision-making. Since then, she has focused on investing in the next generation of academics: Establishing quality PhD Program structure and infrastructure to guide all of the complex decisions that make up an excellent PhD. 

Dr. Arantxa Sanchez Fernandez has served as the Chief Coordinator of DIGS-BB at Technische Universität Dresden for over a decade. In this role, she leads a team responsible for managing doctoral training, recruitment, and the relocation of international candidates across nearly 100 life sciences research groups. After earning her degree in Biotechnology from Universidad del País Vasco and completing a research project at the University Hospital in Cádiz, Spain, she moved to Dresden to pursue her PhD at the former IMPRS-MCBB (now IMPRS-CellDevoSys). Her research explored the cellular crosstalk involved in the bone remodeling process. Following her postdoctoral work in the same field, she moved to her current position, ensuring that all aspects of the PhD program run efficiently and thereby creating a high quality doctoral experience for the next generation of innovative research leaders.